窥 (kuī): to peep
窥 (kuī) is a Chinese character meaning “to peep.” Classified as HSK Level 7-9 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 穴 (semantic) and 规 (phonetic). It ranks #2601 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 窥 hole. Its radical form 穴 (cave) appears in many related characters such as 穿 (chuān, to wear, 穿透), 空 (kōng, empty, sky), 突 (tū, sudden).
Definitions
- to peep
Etymology & Origin
Stroke Order
Practice writing 窥 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 偷窥verb | tōu kuī | to peep |
| 窥探verb | kuī tàn | to pry into or spy on |
| 窥视verb | kuī shì | to peep at |
| 内窥镜noun | nèi kuī jìng | endoscope |
| 窥见verb | kuī jiàn | to catch a glimpse of |
| 窥望 | kuī wàng | to peep |
| 管中窥豹phrase | guǎn zhōng kuī bào | lit. to see a leopard through a narrow tube (idiom) |
| 窥伺verb | kuī sì | to spy upon |
| 管窥所及 | guǎn kuī suǒ jí | in my humble opinion |
| 目不窥园 | mù bù kuī yuán | lit. not even peek at the garden |
| 窥知 | kuī zhī | to find out about |
| 管窥 | guǎn kuī | to look at sth through a bamboo tube |
| 一窥端倪 | yī kuī duān ní | to infer easily |
| 偷窥狂noun | tōu kuī kuáng | voyeur |
| 窥豹一斑 | kuī bào yī bān | lit. see one spot on a leopard (idiom) |
窥 appears in 17 compound words: 47 as the first character, 18 as the last, and 35 in a middle position. Compound statistics computed from SUBTLEX-CH and HSK 3.0 vocabulary data.
Strongest Collocations
Characters that most frequently co-occur with 窥 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (3)
to see only part of the big picture; to have only a limited view of something
to see only part of the big picture; to have only a limited view of something
Example Sentences
请不要窥视别人的隐私，这是不礼貌的行为。
Qǐng búyào kuīshì biérén de yǐnsī, zhè shì bù lǐmào de xíngwéi.
Please don't peep at others' privacy; this is impolite behavior.
然而通过这些小人物的悲喜、生活的坎坷与情感的丰盈，我们得以窥见人间冷暖。
rán ér tōng guò zhè xiē xiǎo rén wù de bēi xǐ , shēng huó de kǎn kē yǔ qíng gǎn de fēng yíng , wǒ men dé yǐ kuī jiàn rén jiān lěng nuǎn .
Yet through the joys and sorrows of these ordinary people, the ups and downs of their lives, and the richness of their emotions, we gain a glimpse into the warmth and harshness of the human world.
脑体马戏团让我们暂离网络，窥探一下自己。
nǎo tǐ mǎ xì tuán ràng wǒ men zàn lí wǎng lào , kuī tàn yī xià zì jǐ .
The Brain-Body Circus lets us step away from the internet for a moment and take a closer look at ourselves.
正论:一图岂能窥全貌 上楼再影费周章
zhèng lùn : yī tú qǐ néng kuī quán mào shàng lóu zài yǐng fèi zhōu zhāng
Straight Talk: Can a Single Image Really Capture the Whole Picture? Going Upstairs to Take Another Photo Is a Waste of Effort
...线?三星发表S26旗舰系列 首创像素级防窥、强化主动式AI体验
. . . xiàn ? sān xīng fā biǎo qí jiàn xì liè shǒu chuàng xiàng sù jí fáng kuī qiáng huà zhǔ dòng shì tǐ yàn
... Line? Samsung unveils the S26 flagship series for the first pixel-level privacy and enhanced active AI experience
返回汉字故乡,朝觐文化根脉,一窥中华文明精神本原
fǎn huí hàn zì gù xiāng , cháo 觐 wén huà gēn mài , yī kuī zhōng huá wén míng jīng shén běn yuán
Return to the hometown of Chinese characters, make a pilgrimage to the cultural roots, and get a glimpse of the spiritual origin of Chinese civilization
德国将禁止雇主在脸书上偷窥。
Déguó jiāng jìnzhǐ gùzhǔ zài Liǎnshū shàng tōukuī.
Germany is to ban employers from snooping on Facebook.
Character Family
Semantic Family — Characters sharing the 穴 (hole) component
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 窥 (kuī) mean in Chinese?
How many strokes does 窥 have?
What is the radical of 窥?
What are the components of 窥?
What are common words containing 窥?
What characters sound the same as 窥 (kuī)?
Is 窥 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 窥 with real-time feedback
Trace stroke sequences, hear spoken pronunciation, and build lasting retention with spaced repetition in the HanziFeed app.