视 (shì) is a Chinese character meaning “to look at”. It is written from 礻 (spirit / altar (radical form of 示)) and 见 (to see), side by side, and takes 8 strokes.
Build the character for “to look at”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
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Structure
礻 + 见
Left–right structure
Structure from: 说文解字: 視，瞻也。从見、示（段玉裁注：示亦聲）
Memory aid
礻 on the left gives the sound shì; 见 on the right means "to see". Sound plus seeing: to look at, to watch.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
8 strokes
In real words
- 电视diàn shìtelevision视 = shìHSK 1
- 视力shì lìeyesight; vision视 = shìHSK 4
- 巡视xún shìto tour and inspect; to look around视 = shì
- 歧视qí shìto discriminate against; discrimination视 = shì
- 俯视fǔ shìto look down at; to overlook视 = shì
- 忽视hū shìto ignore; to overlook; to neglect视 = shì
Go deeper
All readings
to look at
to look at; to watch; to regard; vision
看；观察。也表示对待、看待。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 电视diàn shìtelevision视 = shìHSK 1
- 视力shì lìeyesight; vision视 = shìHSK 4
- 巡视xún shìto tour and inspect; to look around视 = shì
- 歧视qí shìto discriminate against; discrimination视 = shì
- 俯视fǔ shìto look down at; to overlook视 = shì
- 忽视hū shìto ignore; to overlook; to neglect视 = shì
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 视 mean?
视 (shì) means to look at; to watch; to regard; vision.
How do you pronounce 视?
It is pronounced shì.
What parts is 视 made of?
礻 (spirit / altar (radical form of 示)) and 见 (to see), side by side. The recorded source is: 说文解字: 視，瞻也。从見、示（段玉裁注：示亦聲）. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 视 have?
8. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 视?
见. The radical is how the character is filed in a dictionary — it is not the whole story of how the character is built.
What words use 视?
Common ones are 电视 and 视力. The reading of 视 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.