Sinograph Addenda · Signs

eye

Name	eye
Reads	mù
Means	eye
Taught in	02 · The verb and its object

Where it comes from

The oracle bones drew a level eye with its iris; when the script straightened into columns the eye stood up on end — the classic account. It anchors the whole seeing family: on legs it is 見, before a tree it is 相. Taught in the verb-and-object chapter.

How to remember it

An eye stood upright: lids top and bottom, iris barred in the middle.

In the wild

五色令人目盲，五味令人口爽。wǔ sè lìng rén mù máng, wǔ wèi lìng rén kǒu shuǎng"the five colors blind the eye; the five flavors jade the mouth" — the eye worn out by too much to look at

Laozi 12. urn:nabu:kanripo:KR5c0057:012:1a · license: attribution.