Comparing "jian" and "jianmian"

Both 见 (jiàn) and 见面 (jiànmiàn) to mean “to see someone” or "to meet up with someone." Sometimes they can be used interchangeably.

A2HSK3ASV4567

	见 (jiàn)	见面 (jiànmiàn)
Meaning	to see someone	to meet face to face
Part of Speech	verb	verb
Formality	formal and informal	formal and informal

:Yes

The key difference between these words is 见 (jiàn) emphasizes to see someone, whereas 见面 emphasizes a to meet up with someone (face to face).

见 (jiàn) and 见面 (jiànmiàn) Can Be Interchangeable

In the following sentences, 见 (jiàn) and 见面 (jiànmiàn) both can be used interchangeably:

• 我们 明天 几 点 见？ Wǒmen míngtiān jǐ diǎn jiàn?What time shall we meet tomorrow?
• 我们 在 咖啡 店 见面 吧。 Wǒmen zài kāfēi diàn jiànmiàn ba.Let's meet at the coffee shop.
• 我们 很久 没 见面 了。 Wǒmen hěn jiǔ méi jiànmiàn le.We haven't seen each other for a long time.
• 我们 三 个 月 没有 见面 了。 Wǒmen sān gè yuè méiyǒu jiànmiàn le.We haven't seen each other for three months.

Many Set Phrases Use 见 (jiàn)

Common Set Phrases with 见 (jiàn)

These common phrases only work with 见：

• 明天 见 míngtiān jiànsee you tomorrow
• 一会儿 见 yīhuìr jiànsee you in a while
• 好 久 不 见 hǎo jiǔ bu jiànlong time no see

You'll notice that the English translation "see" feels natural for the examples here, although sometimes "meet" might work as well.

Example Sentences with 见 (jiàn) as a Set Phrase

In the following sentences, only 见 (jiàn) can be used.

• 我 快 到 了，一会儿 见！ Wǒ kuài dào le, yīhuìr jiàn !I'm almost there. See you in a bit!
• 我们 下课 了。明天 见！ Wǒmen xià kè le. míngtiān jiàn !We're out of class. See you tomorrow!
• 真的 是 你 吗？好 久 不 见！ Zhēnde shì nǐ ma? hǎo jiǔ bù jiàn !Is it really you? It's been a long time!

见 (jiàn) Can Be Immediately Followed by an Object

Common Objects that Follow 见 (jiàn)

• 见 你 jiàn nǐto see you
• 见 我jiàn wǒto see me
• 见 朋友jiàn péngyouto meet friend

Example Sentences with 见 (jiàn) Directly Followed by an Object

In the following sentences, only 见 can be used. Aside from set phrases, one of the most common ways to use 见 is to directly follow it with an object (usually a person) to mean "meet" that person. (As you'll see below, 见面 can't be used this way.)

• 我 不 想 见 她。 Wǒ bù xiǎng jiàn tā.I don't want to see her.
• 我 昨天 去 见 我的 我 的 朋友 了。 Wǒ zuótiān qù jiàn wǒ de péngyou le.I went to see my friend yesterday.
• 明天 我 很 忙，不 能 见 你 了。 Míngtiān wǒ hěn máng, bù néng jiàn nǐ le.I'm very busy tomorrow. I can't meet you.
• 我 见 过 他 两 次。 Wǒ jiàn guo tā liǎng cì.I've met him twice.

Using 见面 (jiànmiàn) with an Object

Common Mistakes with 见面 (jiànmiàn)

The main thing to remember with using 见面 is that you can't follow it with an object.

• 见面 你jiànmiàn nǐ
• 见面 我jiànmiàn wǒ
• 见面 他jiànmiàn tā
• 见面 朋友jiànmiàn péngyou

Pattern with 见面 (jiànmiàn) and an Object

In the pattern below, the object is normally a person.

和 + Object + 见面

Sometimes 跟 is used instead of 和. Both are fine.

Example Sentences with 见面 (jiànmiàn)

In the following sentences, you can see how 见面 is used correctly:

• 我 和 姐姐 很 少 见面 。 Wǒ hé jiějie hěn shǎo jiànmiàn.I rarely meet up with my big sister.
• 今天 晚上 我 要 和 我的 朋友 见面 。 Jīntiān wǎnshang wǒ yào hé wǒde péngyou jiànmiàn.Tonight I want to meet with my friend.
• 第一 次 跟 他们 见面 后 我们 成 了 朋友 。 Dì-yī cì gēn tāmen jiànmiàn hòu wǒmen chéng le péngyou.After meeting them for the first time we became friends.

Advanced Differences

Technically, 见面 (jiànmiàn) is just one way to use 见 (jiàn). 见面 (jiànmiàn) is a special type of Chinese verb-object construct called a “separable verb,” meaning 见 and 面 can be “separated” and other information can be put in the middle. This grammar is a bit complicated, though, and you don't need it as an elementary learner. For a detailed understanding of this type of verb and its usage, see the intermediate-level Chinese Grammar Wiki grammar points on separable verbs.

Sources and further reading

AllSet Learning Wikis

• Separable verb (Chinese Grammar Wiki)

Books

• 1700对近义词语用法对比 第654页

Websites

• HiNative: "见" 和 "见面" 和有什么不一样?