Meaning & readings

aim at, sight, shadow, stalk

On’yomi ソ、ショ
Kun’yomi ねら.う、ねら.い

Origin

The character combines the animal radical on the left, which marks this as a word about creatures, with a component meaning "moreover" or "additionally" on the right. Together, these parts evoke the idea of an animal that moves deliberately and persistently—one that follows and watches its target. This compounds into the sense of stalking or aiming at something, since both involve focused, sustained attention toward a goal. The meanings of "aim" and "stalk" grew naturally from this image of an animal's purposeful, watchful behavior.

狙 8 strokes

Components

  • ⺨ radical left
  • 且 meaning part right

Common words

  • 狙い ねらい aim (of a gun, bow, etc.)
  • 狙う ねらう to aim at (with a weapon, etc.)

Reference

Strokes
8
Kangxi radical
94
Formation type
Compound ideographic (combined meanings)
Grade
Jōyō (secondary school)
Frequency rank
#745 (newspapers)
Former JLPT
—
Unicode
U+072D9