Comparing "jian" and "kan"

Both 见 (jiàn) and 看 (kàn) are often used in informal and formal settings to mean to visit or to see someone. As well, both can mean to catch sight of something/someone. When used in these senses, usually they can be used interchangeably. However, 见 (jiàn) and 看 (kàn) also have distinct individual uses, as 见 (jiàn) can also mean to meet up with someone, while 看 (kàn) can also mean to watch, to read, or to look at.

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

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

This one is pretty clear, to describe a situation in which someone is reading a book, watching tv, taking in a sporting event or performance on tv or in person, or even enjoying the scenery only 看 (kàn) can be used.

Common Phrases

• 看书
• 看杂志
• 看电视
• 看电影
• 看风景

Example Sentences

• 儿子在 看 书，别打扰他了。
• 你喜欢 看 电视吗？
• 咱们去 看 一场电影，怎么样？
• 王老师喜欢 看 球。
• 咱们去 看 一场电影，怎么样？
• 周末要不要去剧院 看 演出？
• 我喜欢 看 风景。

To say to visit someone use 看 (kàn)

If you want to describe a situation in which you visit someone, as in going on a vacation to see relatives, visiting someone’s home to catch up, etc. use 看 (kàn).

Common Phrases

Look below and you can see that here 看 (kàn) and 见 (jiàn)’s use is very similar; just remember, using 看 (kàn) emphasizes to visit.

• 看 家人
• 看 朋友
• 看 老师
• 去 看 你 qù kàn nǐ go visit you

Example Sentences

• 我们要利用暑假去 看 家人。
• 我们今天去南京 看 朋友。
• 我去 看 你。
• 张老师来我们家 看 我们。

To say to see someone use 见 (jiàn)

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

Common Phrases

Again, as you know from above, here 见 (jiàn) and 看 (kàn)’s use is very similar; just keep in mind that using 见 (jiàn) emphasizes to see.

• 见 家人
• 见 朋友
• 见 老师
• 去 见 你 qù kàn nǐ go visit you

Example Sentences

• 今天 晚上 我 会 去 见 朋友 。

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

Common Phrases

Meeting up with someone is often used in fixed phrases.

• 明天见
• 下次加
• 晚上见
• 一会儿见
• 明年见
• 好久不见

Example Sentences

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

• 好久 不 见！
• 我们 下 星期 见。
• 他 今天 非常 忙 ， 没 时间 见 你 了 。
• 虽然我们俩都在成都，但是我很忙，没时间 见 他。
• 十 年 没 见 他 ， 他 的 变化 很 大 。
• 那个 女孩儿 很 好，见 过 她 的 人 都 很 喜。

To say to catch sight of something/someone both 见 (jiàn) and 看 (kàn) can be used interchangeably and have the same meaning

Think of something like this… you’re in a crowd, you can see your friends, but they can’t see you, or you see someone at the store from afar, but they don’t see you, even something like your friend finally sees you in a big crowd after you have been yelling their name repeatedly… In these situations, it’s fair to use “catch sight of” to describe what’s going on, both 见 (jiàn) and 看 (kàn) can be used in these situations.

Common Phrases

In these common phrases, both 见 (jiàn) and 看 (kàn) can be used interchangeably and both mean to catch sight of something/someone.

• 见 到了
• 看 到他了
• 见 不到
• 看 不到你们

Example Sentences

In the following sentences, both 见 (jiàn) and 看 (kàn) can be used interchangeably with the same meaning.

• 我 看 到了。
• 小李 看 到我们。
• 广场的人太多，小刘还没 见 到你，你喊他一下吧。
• 昨天在买东西的时候，我们 看 到校长。

Common Phrases

These common phrases only work with 看：

• ～书
• ～电视
• ～医生
• ～风景
• ～情况

Example Sentences

In the following sentences, only 看 can be used:

• 我喜欢 看 风景。
• 在旅游的时候，我们最喜欢的是 看 风景，不怎么喜欢爬山，参观博物馆什么的。
• 咱们去 看 一场电影，怎么样？
• 儿子在 看 书，别打扰他了。
• 王老师喜欢 看 球。
• 那条消息你 看 到了吗？
• 他爸爸身体有点不舒服，最好要去 看 病。
• 明天我不知道有没有空出去玩，看 情况吧。