看待
kàndài · HSK 5
look upon
👀 看 (look) + 待 (treat) = how you look at and treat something
看 means look/see and 待 means treat/regard. Together 看待 is the way you view or handle something — your stance toward it. Used like to view, to regard, to look upon.
看 — hand 手 over eye 目
看 is an associative compound showing a hand (手, simplified to 龹) shading an eye (目), depicting someone shielding their eyes to look into the distance. From this concrete gesture it broadened to mean 'to look,' 'to watch,' and later 'to read' or 'to consider.'
待 — chì 彳 (step) + 寺 sì (temple/phonetic)
待 combines the 'step' radical 彳, suggesting movement or a path, with 寺, which serves as the phonetic component. Originally it conveyed the idea of stopping along a road, which extended to 'waiting.' Over time it also took on related meanings like 'to treat' or 'to deal with' someone.