Expressing "it depends" with "kan"

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

• 要看 (yào kàn)
• 得看 (děi kàn)

Both 得看 (děi kàn) and 要看 (yào kàn) mean "depends on." Literally, they both mean "have to look at," so the logic is not hard to understand. Both of them are informal spoken patterns. If you're looking for more formal language, consider 取决于 (qǔjué yú), "to be dependent on."

As an answer to a question

If you're answering a question with "it depends on..." then this is the pattern you want. It's a bit simpler than 取决于 (qǔjué yú).

Structure

(这 / 那) + 得看 / 要看 + [What "It" Depends On]

Examples

Keep in mind that the "answers" below are meant to be an answer to some imaginary question that we don't include.

• 这 得看 你 的 时间 。 Zhè děikàn nǐ de shíjiān. This depends on when you are available.
• 这 得看 天气 怎么样 。 Zhè děikàn tiānqì zěnmeyàng. It depends on how the weather is.
• 那 得看 考试 难 不 难 。 Nà děikàn kǎoshì nán bu nán. That depends on whether the exam is difficult or not.
• 那 要看 他 有 没有 女朋友 。 Nà yàokàn tā yǒu méiyǒu nǚpéngyou. That depends on whether or not he has a girlfriend.
• 那 要看 她 喜欢 什么 。 Nà yàokàn tā xǐhuan shénme. It depends on what she likes.

As part of a full sentence

Structure

If you're going to write a full sentence explaining what "it" depends on, then you're going to need to lead off with some kind of explanation of the "unknown outcome" of what "it depends" on. So you'll start with the "unknown outcome" in the first part of the sentence (before 要看 / 得看), and then end up with what "it depends on" (after 要看 / 得看).

[Unknown Outcome] + 得看 / 要看 + [What "It" Depends On]

The "unknown outcome" normally includes some kind of question word, meaning something like "whether or not x happens" or "what x does," etc.

Examples

• 去 不 去 要看 他 的 心情。Whether he comes or not depends on his mood.
• 能 不 能 得到 这 个 工作 要看 你 的 面试 结果 。Whether you can get this job depends on the result of the job interview.
• 什么 时候 去 见 这个 客户 得看 他 的 时间 。When to meet this client depends on what time he will be available.
• 送 什么 礼物 要看 她 喜欢 什么 。What birthday present to give to her depends on what she really likes.
• 去 哪儿 工作 得看 我 这 几 个 月 找 工作 的 情况 。Where I'm going to work depends on how my job hunting goes in the next few months.

Sources and further reading

Books

• Common Chinese Patterns 330 (汉语常用格式330例) (p. 168)→buy