环视 (huán shì) — to look around (surveying one's surroundings, often with a sweeping motion)

Definition

Means to look around, usually scanning all directions in one deliberate sweep. Compared with 环顾, 环视 is slightly more written; 看看 / 看一看 are casual 'have a look'.

verb
to look around (surveying one's surroundings, often with a sweeping motion)

Examples

  • ，环视。
    Tā zǒu jìn huì yì shì, huán shì le yí xià zài chǎng de rén.
    He walked into the meeting room and looked around at the people present.
  • ，环视。
    Zhàn zài shān dǐng shàng, tā huán shì sì zhōu de fēng jǐng.
    Standing on the mountaintop, he looked around at the surrounding scenery.
  • 环视，。
    Jǐng chá huán shì le zhěng gè fáng jiān, méi yǒu fā xiàn yì cháng.
    The police officer looked around the entire room and found nothing unusual.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

环huánaround
视shìlook

环 'around' and 视 'look' combine to mean look around one's surroundings.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 環; 环 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
玉玉yùjade
Sound part声符shēngfú
睘
睘qióng環huán
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 環 pairs 玉 (jade) with a sound part; the simplified 环 is a shorthand and its right side is not the historical sound part.

Open 环 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 視; 视 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
見見jiànsee
Sound part声符shēngfú
示
示shì視shì
Same sound today

The story is about the traditional form 視: it combines 見, meaning see, with 示, which gives the sound shì.

Open 视 →

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