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

These common phrases only work with 见：

• 明天～ míngtiān ～see you tomorrow
• 一会儿～ yīhuìr ～see you in a while
• 好久不～ hǎo jiǔ bu ～long 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

• ～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.

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.

Sources and further reading

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?