监视 (jiān shì) — to monitor, to keep a close watch over | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

监视 (jiānshì) means watching someone or something closely over time, often covertly — think police or surveillance. Stronger and more hidden than 监督 (open, official supervision) and 监控 (tech-based monitoring).

verb

to monitorto keep a close watch over

Examples

监视。
Jǐng fāng tōng guò shè xiàng tóu jiān shì zhè ge qū yù.
The police monitor this area through cameras.
监视。
Tā gǎn jué yǒu rén yì zhí zài jiān shì tā.
He felt someone had been keeping a close watch on him.
监视。
Wèi xīng kě yǐ jiān shì quán qiú de qì hòu biàn huà.
Satellites can monitor global climate change.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

监jiānsupervise

监 (supervise) and 视 (watch) combine to mean keeping close watch over something.

Characters in this word

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 監; 监 is its simplified writing.

臥臥wòa person with an emphasized eye
皿皿mǐncontainer

The traditional form 監 shows 臥, a person with an emphasized eye, looking into 皿, a container; the simplified 监 is a later shorthand.

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.

Appears in

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