Comparing "jian" and "kan"

Both 见 (jiàn) and 看 (kàn) are often used in informal and formal settings to mean “to meet” or “to see someone”. 见 (jiàn) can also mean to “meet up with” someone, while 看 (kàn) can also mean to watch, to read, or to look at, and even has a special use for visiting the doctor.

A2HSK2ASV4567

	见 (jiàn)	看 (kàn)
Meaning	to meet someone	to watch, to read, to look at, to visit
Part of Speech	verb	verb
Formality	flexible	flexible

:Yes

To say "to read," "to watch," or "to look at" use 看 (kàn)

To describe a situation in which someone is reading a book, watching TV, taking in a sporting event or performance online or in person, or even enjoying the scenery only 看 (kàn) can be used, meaning "to watch" or "to look at."

Common Phrases

• 看 书 kàn shūto read a book
• 看 电影 kàn diànyǐngto watch a movie
• 看 手机 kàn shǒujīto look at one's phone
• 看 风景 kàn fēngjǐngto enjoy the scenery

Example Sentences

• 我 很 喜欢 看 书。 Wǒ hěn xǐhuan kàn shū. I really like to read books.
• 昨天 我 去 看 电影 了。 Zuótiān wǒ qù kàn diànyǐng le. Yesterday I went to see a movie.
• 他 不 想 工作，他 想 看 手机。 Tā bù xiǎng gōngzuò, tā xiǎng kàn shǒujī. He doesn't want to work. He wants to look at his phone.
• 我 喜欢 旅游，因为 我 想 看 风景。 Wǒ xǐhuan lǚyóu, yīnwèi wǒ xiǎng kàn fēngjǐng.I like to travel because I want to see the scenery.

To say "to meet up with" someone use 见 (jiàn)

Set Phrases

Meeting up (i.e., getting together, a rendezvous) with someone is often used in fixed phrases, often resembling the English pattern “see you tomorrow”, “see you next time”, etc.

• 明天 见míngtiān jiàn See you tomorrow
• 见面 jiàn miànto meet
• 好 久 不 见hǎo jiǔ bù jiàn jiàn Long time no see

Common Phrases

If you want to describe a situation in which you go and see someone in person, you also use 见 (jiàn).

• 见 朋友 jiàn péngyou go see friend

Example Sentences

While 见 (jiàn) is used in fixed phrases to mean “meeting up”, it can also be independently to mean “meet up” in the sense of have an encounter or have interaction with someone.

• 今天 晚上 我 去 见 朋友 。Jīntiān wǎnshang wǒ qù jiàn péngyou.Tonight I'm going to see a friend.
• 我们 下 星期 见。 Wǒmen xià xīngqī jiàn .I'll see you next week.
• 好 久 不 见，你 最近 好 吗？ Hǎo jiǔ bù jiàn , nǐ zuìjìn hǎo ma?It's been a long time. How have you been?
• 我 和 朋友 明天 晚上 见面。Wǒ hé péngyou míngtiān wǎnshang jiàn miàn.My friend and I will meet tomorrow night.
• 我们 在 咖啡馆 见面 吧。Wǒmen zài kāfēiguǎn jiàn miàn ba.Let's meet at the cafe.
• 他 今天 很 忙 ， 没 时间 见 你 了 。 Tā jīntiān hěn máng, méi shíjiān jiàn nǐ le.He's very busy today and won't have time to see you.
• 今天 不 能 和 你 一起 去 吃饭 了，我 要 去 见 客户。 Jīntiān bù néng hé nǐ yīqǐ qù chīfàn le, wǒ yào qù jiàn kèhù.I can't go to dinner with you today, I have to meet a client.
• 我 没有 见 过 他，不 知道 他 是 谁。Wǒ méiyǒu jiàn guo tā, bù zhīdào tā shì shéi.I haven't met him, I don't know who he is.
• 那个 女孩儿 很 好，见 过 她 的 人 都 很 喜欢 她。Nàge nǚháir hěn hǎo, jiàn guo tā de rén dōu hěn xǐhuan tā.That girl is very nice, everyone who has met her likes her.
• 三 年 不 见， 他 的 变化 很 大 。Sān nián bù jiàn , tā de biànhuà hěn dà.He has changed a lot in the three years since I saw him.

To say "to visit the doctor" use 看 (kàn)

Although this is a special use of 看 (kàn), it pretty easy to understand, if you have an appointment with the doctor or to need to pay a visit to the doctor because of sickness or an ailment use 看 (kàn).

Set Phrases

• 看 病 kàn bìngto go see a doctor
• 看 医生 kàn yīshēngto go see a doctor

Example Sentences

• 他 身体 有点 不舒服，他 明天 去 看 病 。 Tā shēntǐ yǒudiǎn bù shūfu, tā míngtiān qù kàn bìng .He's not feeling well and he's going to the doctor tomorrow.
• 我 昨天 去 看 医生 了。 Wǒ zuótiān qù kàn yīshēng le.I went to see the doctor yesterday.

To say "to visit" someone (socially) use 看 (kàn)

If you want to describe a situation in which you visit someone, as in going on a vacation to see relatives or visiting someone in their home to catch up, etc. use 看 (kàn). These imply the purpose of the visit includes inquiries into someone else’s health and well-being.

Look above (specifically 见 (jiàn) used in the sense of “to meet someone”) and you can see that here 看 (kàn) and 见 (jiàn)’s use and example sentences are all very similar; just remember, using 看 (kàn) emphasizes a visit and includes a taking into consideration someone else’s health and well-being, and that in this context 看 (kàn) is not as commonly used as 见 (jiàn).

Common Phrases

• 去 看 你 qù kàn nǐ go visit you
• 看 家人 kàn jiārénto visit family

Example Sentences

• 我 暑假 去 看 家人。 Wǒ shǔjià qù kàn jiārén.I'm going to see my family in the summer.
• 我们 今天 去 南京 看 朋友。 Wǒmen jīntiān qù Nánjīng kàn péngyou.tWe are going to Nanjing today to see our friends.
• 明天 我 去 看 你。 Míngtiān wǒ qù kàn nǐ.Tomorrow I will go to see you.
• 我 听说 她 最近 不开心，我 想 去 看 她。 Wǒ tīngshuō tā zuìjìn bù kāixīn, wǒ xiǎng qù kàn tā.I heard that she is not happy lately and I want to go to see her.
• 张老师 没有 来 我们 家 看 我们。 Zhāng lǎoshī méiyǒu lái wǒmen jiā kàn wǒmen.Teacher Zhang didn't come to see us at home.

看见 (kànjiàn) means "to see"

In the word 看见 (kànjiàn), 看 (kàn) means "to look at," but is combined with the result complement 见 (jiàn), which is not the same as the verb 见, detailed above. 看见 (kànjiàn) means "to see." It is equivalent to the word 看到 (kàndào).

• 我 看见 了 一 只 猫。 Wǒ kànjiàn le yī zhǐ māo.I saw a cat.
• 不 好意思，我 没有 看见 你。 Bù hǎoyìsi, wǒ méiyǒu kànjiàn nǐ.I'm sorry, I didn't see you.
• 昨天 我 在 超市 看见 了 他，但是 他 没有 看见 我 。 Zuótiān wǒ zài chāoshì kànjiàn le tā, dànshì tā méiyǒu kànjiàn wǒ.I saw him at the supermarket yesterday, but he didn't see me.
• 你 能 看见 我 吗？ Nǐ néng kànjiàn wǒ ma?

Can you see me?

For more advanced uses of 看见 (kànjiàn) and 看到 (kàndào), be sure to check out their article on the Chinese Grammar Wiki.