盯
dīng · HSK 7
to stare at
👁️ 目 eye + 丁 nail — nail your gaze onto something
丁 (dīng) means nail and gives the sound. Nailing your eyes onto a target is staring hard without blinking. The 目 radical confirms it is about seeing.
盯 — eye 目 + nail 丁
A semantic-phonetic compound: 目 (eye) gives the meaning of looking, while 丁 (dīng, nail/spike) supplies the sound. The imagery suggests fixing the eyes on something as firmly as driving in a nail, hence the modern sense of staring intently.