目 (mù): eye
目 (mù) is a Chinese character meaning “eye.” Classified as HSK Level 3 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 口 (structural) and 二 (structural). It ranks #239 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically pictographic, 目 an eye drawn on its side. Its radical form 目 (eye) appears in many related characters such as 看 (kàn, to look, to see), 真 (zhēn, really), 着 (zhe, -ing, to wear).
Definitions
- eye
Etymology & Origin
pictographicAn eye drawn on its side
Decomposition: ⿴口二 (layout: full-surround)
Stroke Order
Practice writing 目 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 目
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | HSK |
|---|---|---|---|
| 节目noun | jié mù | (TV or radio) program | 3 |
| 目标noun | mù biāo | target | 4 |
| 目前noun | mù qián | at the present time | 4 |
| 目的noun | mù dì | purpose | 4 |
| 项目noun | xiàng mù | item | 5 |
| 数目noun | shù mù | amount | 6 |
| 目光noun | mù guāng | gaze | 5 |
| 目的地noun | mù dì dì | destination (location) | 4 |
| 目录noun | mù lù | catalog | 6 |
| 题目noun | tí mù | subject | 5 |
| 心目noun | xīn mù | mind | 6 |
| 科目noun | kē mù | academic subject | 6 |
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 目击verb | mù jī | to see with one's own eyes |
| 目击者noun | mù jī zhě | eyewitness |
| 目睹verb | mù dǔ | to witness |
| 盲目adjective | máng mù | (fig.) (of one's actions) blind |
| 引人注目verb | yǐn rén zhù mù | to attract attention |
| 头目noun | tóu mù | ringleader |
| 真面目 | zhēn miàn mù | true identity |
| 拭目以待phrase | shì mù yǐ dài | lit. to wipe one's eyes and wait (idiom) |
| 曲目noun | qǔ mù | repertoire |
| 刮目相看phrase | guā mù xiāng kàn | to have a whole new level of respect for sb or sth |
| 瞩目verb | zhǔ mù | to focus attention upon |
| 醒目adjective | xǐng mù | eye-grabbing (headline) |
| 亲眼目睹phrase | qīn yǎn mù dǔ | to see for oneself |
| 耳目noun | ěr mù | eyes and ears |
| 面目noun | miàn mù | appearance |
目 appears in 108 compound words: 23 as the first character, 68 as the last, and 9 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 目 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (76)
to hear with one's ears and see with one's eyes; to personally see and hear
to hear with one's ears and see with one's eyes; to personally see and hear
Showing 12 of 76 idioms containing 目.
Example Sentences
目录已经整理好了，请大家查阅确认。
Mùlù yǐjīng zhěnglǐ hǎo le, qǐng dàjiā cháyuè quèrèn.
The catalog has been organized; please review and confirm.
考文垂:期待“为奥运喝彩”项目组持续发挥文化桥梁作用
kǎo wén chuí : qī dài wéi ào yùn hē cǎi xiàng mù zǔ chí xù fā huī wén huà qiáo liáng zuò yòng
Coventry: We look forward to the "Cheers for the Olympics" project team continuing to play a cultural bridge
8名中国游客在贝加尔湖落水,目前仅1人获救
8 míng zhōng guó yóu kè zài bèi jiā ěr hú luò shuǐ , mù qián jǐn 1 rén huò jiù
Eight Chinese tourists fell into the water in Lake Baikal, and only one has been rescued
冬奥会|20日看点:赛程有变 目标不变
dōng ào huì 2 0 rì kàn diǎn : sài chéng yǒu biàn mù biāo bù biàn
Winter Olympics|20th highlights: The schedule has changed and the goal remains unchanged
...通通州:新年“开机”赶订单 新产能冲刺新目标
. . . tōng tōng zhōu : xīn nián kāi jī gǎn dìng dān xīn chǎn néng chōng cì xīn mù biāo
... Tongtong Prefecture: New Year's "start-up" to catch up with orders New production capacity sprint new goals
宇树科技王兴兴:今年宇树科技的目标出货量在1-2万..
yǔ shù kē jì wáng xīng xīng jīn nián yǔ shù kē jì de mù biāo chū huò liáng zài mò . .
Wang Xingxing of Yushu Technology: This year, Yushu Technology's target shipment volume is 10,000 to 20,000 units.
他来这里的目的是什么？
Tā lái zhèlǐ de mùdì shì shénme?
For what purpose did he come here?
第十台在播什么节目？
Dì shí tái zài bō shénme jiémù?
What is on Channel 10?
教育的最终目的是什么？
Jiàoyù de zuì zhōng mùdì shì shénme?
What is the ultimate purpose of education?
目前的失业率是多少？
Mùqián de shīyèlǜ shì duōshao?
What is the unemployment rate at the moment?
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 目 (mù) mean in Chinese?
How many strokes does 目 have?
What is the radical of 目?
What are the components of 目?
What are common words containing 目?
What characters sound the same as 目 (mù)?
Is 目 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 目 with real-time feedback
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