睛 (jīng) — eyeball (bound form, appears only in compounds)

Definition

睛 (jīng) is a bound form meaning 'eyeball', used only inside compounds like 眼睛 — it never stands alone. Compare the standalone word 眼睛 (the full word for 'eye') vs. 睛 as just the internal 'eyeball' element.

bound form
eyeball (bound form, appears only in compounds)
Easily confused

Examples

  • 。
    Tā de yǎn jīng yòu dà yòu liàng.
    Her eyes are both big and bright.
  • 。
    Tā mù bù zhuǎn jīng dì kàn zhe píng mù.
    He stared at the screen without blinking.
  • 睛。
    Zhè fú huà zuì hòu de diǎn jīng zhī bǐ hěn qiǎo miào.
    The final finishing touch on this painting is very clever.

Origin

Sound + meaning
六书liùshū
形声xíngshēng

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

Meaning part形符xíngfú
目目mù
Sound part声符shēngfú
青
青qīng睛⁰jīng
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The left part 目 is an eye, matching the meaning eyeball; the right part 青 gives the sound.

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