Expressing "it depends" with "kan"

Although there are a number of ways to express "it depends" in Chinese, the most common ones all involve the verb 看 (kàn). Some common expressions include:

• 要看 (yào kàn)
• 那要看 (nà yào kàn)
• 得看 (děi kàn)
• 那得看 (nà děi kàn)

得看（děikàn）or 要看（yàokàn)means "depend on" while literally 得看 means "have to see" and 要看 means need to see。Both of them are 很口语。比”得看“和”要看“更正式的说法是“取决于”。

Structure

Verb./Adj.+不+Verb./Adj.+得看/要看+a related situation(the sentence often goes with a question word)

Question word+得看+Verb./Adj.+不（没）+Verb./Adj.

Examples

• 今晚能不能回家吃饭要看公司加不加班。Whether I can go home for dinner tonight depends on whether we needs to work some extra time or not.
• 大学毕业以后做什么得看我这几个月找工作的情况。What I'm going to do after graduation depends on how the job hunting goes in the next few months.
• 这个周末去不去黄山要看 天气怎么样。Whether we're going to Yellow Mountain or not depends on how the weather is gonna be.
• 过年发不发红包得看公司利润怎么样。Whether the company gives red packets for Spring Festival or not depends on our profits.
• 去哪儿度蜜月要看我老公银行卡有多少钱。Where we're going to spend our honeymoon depends on how much money my husband's got in his bank card.
• 谁会得到这份工作得看面试结果。Who will get the job depends on the results of this job interview.
• 老板来不来参加周五的会要看 那天忙不忙。Whether the boss will be able to come to the meeting this Friday depends on whether he's busy or not.
• 什么时候去跟这个客户见面得看他的时间。When to meet this client depends on what time he will be available.
• 女朋友生日送什么礼物要看她喜欢的是什么。What presents to give to your girl friend for her birthday depends on what she really likes.
• 能不能找到一份好工作得看你的工作经验和推荐。Whether or not you'll be able to find a nice job depends on your working experience and recommendation.