监 (jiān) is a Chinese character meaning “to supervise”. It is written from ㇑ (vertical stroke) and ㇑ (vertical stroke) and ㇒ (left-falling stroke) and ㇐ (horizontal stroke) and ㇔ (dot stroke) and 皿 (dish; vessel), one above the other, and takes 10 strokes. It has a second reading, jiàn, which turns up in 太监 — here the two readings are two separate things to learn, not one card with two answers.
Build the character for “to supervise; to watch over”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
㇑ + ㇑ + ㇒ + ㇐ + ㇔ + 皿
Top–bottom structure
- ㇑ vertical stroke unknown
- ㇑ vertical stroke unknown
- ㇒ left-falling stroke unknown
- ㇐ horizontal stroke unknown
- ㇔ dot stroke unknown
- 皿 dish; vessel · mǐn unknown
Structure from: Unicode U+76D1 与 hanzi-writer-data 现代字形笔画核验（10 笔：0-4 上部 竖/竖/撇/横/点，与「览」「临」同形且无可追溯的成字部件；5-9 为「皿」）
Memory aid
Two uprights (㇑ ㇑) stand like a guard post. A stroke (㇒), a bar (㇐) and a dot (㇔) lean out over it like someone peering down — and below sits a dish (皿). Someone keeps a watchful eye on the bowl: to supervise.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
10 strokes
In real words
- 监督jiān dūto supervise; to oversee监 = jiān
- 监狱jiān yùprison; jail监 = jiān
Go deeper
All readings
to supervise; to watch over
to supervise; to watch over; to inspect; prison
从旁察看、督促；也指关押犯人的地方。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 监督jiān dūto supervise; to oversee监 = jiān
- 监狱jiān yùprison; jail监 = jiān
imperial office; eunuch (in 太监)
an imperial government office (historical); used in 太监, eunuch
古代官署名；也用于「太监」。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 太监tài jiàneunuch (imperial court)监 = jiàn
Other characters with these parts
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 监 mean?
监 (jiān) means to supervise; to watch over; to inspect; prison.
How do you pronounce 监?
Its main reading is jiān. It also has a second reading, jiàn, which only shows up in certain words such as 太监 — so the word tells you the reading, not the character on its own.
Why is 监 sometimes pronounced jiàn?
Because it is a multi-reading character: each reading carries a different sense, and the word decides which one applies. In 太监 it is read jiàn.
What parts is 监 made of?
㇑ (vertical stroke) and ㇑ (vertical stroke) and ㇒ (left-falling stroke) and ㇐ (horizontal stroke) and ㇔ (dot stroke) and 皿 (dish; vessel), one above the other. The recorded source is: Unicode U+76D1 与 hanzi-writer-data 现代字形笔画核验（10 笔：0-4 上部 竖/竖/撇/横/点，与「览」「临」同形且无可追溯的成字部件；5-9 为「皿」）. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 监 have?
10. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 监?
皿. 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 监?
Common ones are 监督 and 监狱. The reading of 监 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.