Think of 眯 (mí) as Chinese’s version of squinting in a noir film—less about blindness, more about *deliberate, partial closure* of the eyes. It doesn’t mean ‘to go blind’ (that’s 失明), but rather ‘to narrow the eyes’ — often to block glare, peer closely, or convey suspicion, slyness, or drowsiness. In English, we’d say ‘she squinted at the contract’, not ‘she blinded at it’. That nuance is critical: 眯 is always volitional and physical, never pathological.

Grammatically, 眯 most commonly appears as a verb in V-O structure (e.g., 眯眼 ‘narrow one’s eyes’) or as a resultative complement after another verb: 他眯起眼睛看||tā mī qǐ yǎn jīng kàn — ‘He squinted his eyes to look’. Note the particle 起: it signals the *initiation* of the narrowing action. Learners often omit 起 and say *他眯眼睛*, which sounds unnatural — like saying ‘He squint eyes’ instead of ‘He squints his eyes’.

Culturally, 眯 carries subtle expressive weight: in literature, a character who 眯眼 before speaking often signals calculation or concealed intent (think of a wily detective or a poker-faced elder). A common mistake is confusing it with blindfolded or unconscious states — but 眯 implies full awareness and control. Also, while the standard pronunciation is mí, the variant mī appears only in the fixed compound 眯缝 (mī fèng), meaning ‘a narrow slit’ — a rare, poetic usage you’ll mostly see in classical-style prose or modern literary descriptions.