览 lǎn to look over
How it came to be
Somebody looking down into a bowl of water, set over the see block in the full form. Two kinds of looking stacked: the character is about taking in the whole of something.
How it is used
- To view/take in with the eyes, always bound. 展览 (zhǎnlǎn) exhibition, 游览 (yóulǎn) sightseeing tour.
- 浏览 (liúlǎn) = to browse/skim quickly (a website or text), giving 浏览器 (liúlǎnqì) web browser - contrast careful reading 阅读.
- 游览 is touring scenery for pleasure; 参观 (cānguān) is visiting a place to inspect it (a factory, museum).