目 — how to write the kanji for “eye”
目 means “eye”, “class” and “look”; it is a JLPT N4 kanji, taught in first grade in Japan. In newspapers it is one of the hundred most used kanji (76th). As one of the 214 traditional radicals it heads 145 kanji in KANJIDIC2. On its own it is the word me, “eye; eyeball”. Read moku, it forms 目標 (“goal”), 目的 (“purpose”) and 注目 (“notice”); the native reading me gives 目玉 (“eyeball”) and 目の前 (“before one's eyes”). Chinese reads it mù, “eye”, at HSK 3.
- Strokes
- 5
- JLPT
- N4
- Radical
- 目 (“eye”)
- On
- モク, ボク
- Kun
- -め, め, ま-
Stroke by stroke
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- Vertical ㇑top leftdownwards
- Horizontal-turn ㇕top leftrightwards → downwards
- Horizontal ㇐leftrightwards
- Horizontal ㇐leftrightwards
- Horizontal ㇐bottom leftrightwards
Japanese and Chinese
Japanese and Chinese draw all 5 strokes in the same order and direction, by our stroke-by-stroke comparison.
Under the radical 目
Trace it
Follow the numbers. Tracing help
Readings
- On (Chinese-derived)
- モク moku, ボク boku
- Kun (native)
- -め -me, め me (rare), ま- ma- (rare)
- Meanings
- eye; class; look; insight; experience; care
- Read moku
- 目標 目的 注目 項目 種目 目前
- Read me
- 目玉 目の前
- School year
- first grade
- Newspaper rank
- 76th of 2,500 (KANJIDIC2)
- Korean hanja
- 목 mok
- Common words
- 84 in JMdict
Words with 目
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 目標 | もくひょう mokuhyou | goal; target |
| 目的 | もくてき mokuteki | purpose; goal |
| 注目 | ちゅうもく chuumoku | notice; attention |
| 項目 | こうもく koumoku | item; heading |
| 名目 | めいもく meimoku | name; title |
| 目玉 | めだま medama | eyeball; special feature |
| 種目 | しゅもく shumoku | item; event |
| 目前 | もくぜん mokuzen | before one's very eyes; under one's nose |
| 目の前 | めのまえ menomae | before one's eyes; in front of one |
| 品目 | ひんもく hinmoku | item; commodity |
Most common first (JMdict).
Practice sheet
Print at 100%. Several kanji: worksheet maker.
Keep going
JLPT N4, in list order: