打量
dǎliàng · HSK 7
to size sb up; to look sb up and down
🔍 hit (打) + measure (量) = take someones measure, size them up
When you 打量 someone you strike a quick measure of them — running an estimate of who they are. Often describes looking someone over to form a snap judgment.
打 — hand radical 扌 + nail 丁
打 combines the hand radical 扌 (action with the hand) with 丁 (originally a nail), suggesting striking or hitting with the hand. 丁 also serves as a phonetic hint in older readings. The meaning broadened from 'to strike' to a general verb for many hand-based actions, like 打电话 'make a phone call'.
量 — top 旦 (sunrise) + bottom 里 (village/measure)
Originally a pictograph of a funnel or measuring vessel used to gauge grain. The form evolved to suggest weighing at sunrise (旦) over a measured area (里). It split into two readings: liáng 'to measure' (the action) and liàng 'quantity' (the result).