見晴らし

みはらし · miharashi · JLPT N1 · noun

position

🏞️ 見 (see) + 晴 (clear sky) + らし: a clear-sky spot where you can see far, so 'view'

見晴らし is 見る (to see) plus 晴らす (to clear up, open out): a place where the sight opens wide. Think 'see' + 'clear open sky' = a view.

晴 — sun 日 + blue/clear 青
晴 is a semantic-phonetic compound. The left element 日 (sun) gives the meaning — clear, sunny weather — while 青 (qīng) on the right supplies the sound. It originally referred to a sky cleared of rain, and still means 'clear/fine weather' today.

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