The kanji 看 primarily conveys the meaning of "to look," "to watch," "to observe," or "to examine." It implies directing one's gaze towards something with the intention of seeing or understanding it. It can also suggest taking care of or attending to something.

・On-yomi (音読み): カン (kan) ・Kun-yomi (訓読み): み (mi)

⚫︎ 見る (miru) Translation: To see; to watch; to look at. This is the more general verb for "to see." 看 is not used in this word. ⚫︎ 看護 (kango) Translation: Nursing; care; looking after. This word uses the カン reading and combines 看 with another kanji that relates to the same meaning to describe the profession of nursing and the act of caring for someone. ⚫︎ 看病 (kanbyou) Translation: Nursing a sick person; taking care of a sick person. Similar to 看護, this word uses the カン reading and also involves care, but more specifically for a sick individual.

The kanji 看 is a pictophonetic kanji (形声文字, keisei moji), which means it combines a semantic component (a part that hints at the meaning) with a phonetic component (a part that suggests the pronunciation). The left side is 目 (め, me), which means "eye" and represents the semantic element, indicating the act of seeing or observing. The right side is 干 (かん, kan), which originally represented a type of weapon. In this case, it contributes to the pronunciation of the kanji. Therefore, the character depicts the action of using the eye to observe something, thus giving the meanings of “to look,” “to watch,” and “to examine.”