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 on tv 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 shūread book
• 看 电影 kàn diànyǐngwatch movie
• 看 手机 kàn shǒujīlook at the phone
• 看 风景 kàn fēngjǐngvisit scenery

Example Sentences

• 我 很 喜欢 看 书。 Wǒ hěn xǐhuan kàn shū. I really like to read books.
• 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.
• 昨天 我 去 看 电影 了。 Zuótiān wǒ qù kàn diànyǐng le. Yesterday I went to see a movie.
• 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 。
• 我们 下 星期 见。
• 好 久 不 见，你 最近 好 吗？
• 我 和 朋友 明天 晚上 见面。
• 我们 在 咖啡馆 见面 吧。
• 他 今天 很 忙 ， 没 时间 见 你 了 。
• 今天 不 能 和 你 一起 去 吃饭 了，我 要 去 见 客户。
• 我 没有 见 过 他，不 知道 他 是 谁。
• 那个 女孩儿 很 好，见 过 她 的 人 都 很 喜欢 她。
• 三 年 不 见， 他 的 变化 很 大 。

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
• 看 医生

Example Sentences

• 他 身体 有点 不舒服，他 明天 去 看 病 。
• 我 昨天 去 看 医生 了。

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

Example Sentences

• 我 暑假 去 看 家人。
• 我们 今天 去 南京 看 朋友。
• 明天 我 去 看 你。
• 我 听说 她 最近 不开心，我 想 去 看 她。
• 张老师 没有 来 我们 家 看 我们。

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。
• 不 好意思，我 没有 看见 你。
• 昨天 我 在 超市 看见 了 他，但是 他 没有 看见 我 。
• 你 能 看见 我 吗？

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