瞄准
miáo zhǔn · HSK 7
to target
🎯 瞄 (eye 目 + aim) + 准 (accurate) = fix the eye accurately = take aim
瞄 carries the eye radical 目 on its left, the act of sighting along a line. Pair it with 准, meaning accurate or on-target, and the two together mean lining up your sight precisely: to aim at a target.
准 — ice radical 冫 + falcon 隹
Originally written 準, meaning a water level used to check flatness, hence 'standard' or 'level.' The simplified form 准 was historically a variant used for 'permit' or 'approve.' Modern Chinese merged both senses into 准, covering 'accurate,' 'standard,' and 'to allow.'