视为
shìwéi · HSK 5
regard as
👁️ 视 = see/view + 为 = act as; together: view-as = regard as
视 carries the eye radical 见 and means see or view. 为 means to do, act as, or count as. Stacked, 视为 literally reads view-as, matching the English regard as or deem.
为 — simplified form of 為; from 爪 (claw/hand) over 象 (elephant)
The traditional form 為 originally depicted a hand leading an elephant, suggesting the act of doing or making work. Over time it generalized to mean 'to do, to act, for the sake of.' The simplified 为 preserves this 'do/for' meaning, with pronunciation shifting between wéi ('to be, to do') and wèi ('for, because of').