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.

	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

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).

1 见 (jiàn) and 见面 (jiànmiàn) Can Be Interchangeable
2 Many Set Phrases Use 见 (jiàn)
- 2.1 Common Set Phrases with 见 (jiàn)
- 2.2 Example Sentences with 见 (jiàn) as a Set Phrase
3 见 (jiàn) Can Be Immediately Followed by an Object
- 3.1 Common Objects that Follow 见 (jiàn)
- 3.2 Example Sentences with 见 (jiàn) Directly Followed by an Object
4 Using 见面 (jiànmiàn) with an Object
5 Advanced Differences
6 Sources and further reading
- 6.1 Books
- 6.2 Websites

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！
真的是你吗？好久不见！

见 (jiàn) Can Be Immediately Followed by an Object

Common Objects that Follow 见 (jiàn)

～你～ nǐto see you
～我
～朋友

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:

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.
我和姐姐很少见面。 Wǒ hé jiějie hěn shǎo jiànmiàn.I rarely meet up with my big sister.
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.