閱

The glyph centers on formal or systematic examination:

1. Official Inspection: To review, audit, or inspect (e.g., military reviews of troops or administrative oversight), with a focus on verification and order.

2. Literary Perusal: To read through a document to determine its contents or validity; scanning or vetting.

3. Experiential Passage: To pass through physically (such as a gate) or the metaphorical accumulation of experience.

Predominantly transitive, requiring an object (e.g., troops, documents, events). The action implies linear progression—moving across a line of soldiers or through the length of a scroll.

閱 vs. 讀: While both can be translated as "read," 閱 is evaluative and suggests a detached, critical, or official eye (the reading of an auditor), whereas 讀 typically implies study, recitation, or absorption of content (the reading of a student).

Simplified variant: 阅 (U+9605).