Chinese character 覣

A friendly, favorable look; later dictionaries also list anger.

The Shuowen Jiezi, a Chinese character dictionary compiled in the early 2nd century CE, gives an early account of 覣 as 好視, a friendly or favorable way of looking. It analyzes the form as 見 (“see/look”) paired with 委 on the left as its sound-bearing component; its commentary connects 委 with yielding.

Later reference works give a wider range. The Kangxi dictionary tradition records “good-looking” and “anger”; Taiwan’s Ministry of Education Dictionary of Chinese Character Variants also gives “use eye contact to entice,” “beautiful appearance,” and an interjection. Let the source and sentence settle which sense fits.

How was 覣 used in Japan?

One historical Japanese title gives 覣 a special reading. In Japan, 覣 appears in 三升覣雁金曾我, read in Japanese as みますみますかりがねそが. The work is associated with kabuki and jōruri, traditional Japanese theater forms, and its first performance is dated to Kaei 3 (1850). This title-specific reading does not establish a general Japanese reading for 覣.