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 online 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 shūto read a book
• 看 电影 kàn diànyǐngto watch a movie
• 看 手机 kàn shǒujīto look at one's phone
• 看 风景 kàn fēngjǐngto enjoy the scenery

Example Sentences

• 我 很 喜欢 看 书。 Wǒ hěn xǐhuan kàn shū. I really like to read books.
• 昨天 我 去 看 电影 了。 Zuótiān wǒ qù kàn diànyǐng le. Yesterday I went to see a movie.
• 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.
• 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

For more on 见面, see Comparing "jian" and "jianmian".

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 。Jīntiān wǎnshang wǒ qù jiàn péngyou.Tonight I'm going to see a friend.
• 我们 下 星期 见。 Wǒmen xià xīngqī jiàn .We'll see each other next week.
• 好 久 不 见，你 最近 好 吗？ Hǎo jiǔ bù jiàn, nǐ zuìjìn hǎo ma?It's been a long time. How have you been?
• 他 今天 很 忙 ， 没 时间见 你 了 。 Tā jīntiān hěn máng, méi shíjiān jiàn nǐ le.He's very busy today and won't have time to see you.
• 今天 不 能 和 你 一起 去 吃饭 了，我 要 去 见 客户。 Jīntiān bù néng hé nǐ yīqǐ qù chīfàn le, wǒ yào qù jiàn kèhù.I can't go to dinner with you today, I have to meet a client.
• 我 没有 见 过 他，不 知道 他 是 谁。Wǒ méiyǒu jiàn guo tā, bù zhīdào tā shì shéi.I haven't met him, I don't know who he is.
• 那个 女孩儿 很 好，见 过 她 的 人 都 很 喜欢 她。Nàge nǚháir hěn hǎo, jiàn guo tā de rén dōu hěn xǐhuan tā.That girl is very nice, everyone who has met her likes her.
• 三 年 不 见， 他 的 变化 很 大 。Sān nián bù jiàn , tā de biànhuà hěn dà.He has changed a lot in the three years since I saw him.

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 need to pay a visit to the doctor because of sickness use 看 (kàn).

Set Phrases

• 看 病 kàn bìngto go see a doctor
• 看 医生 kàn yīshēngto go see a doctor

Example Sentences

• 他 身体 有点 不舒服，他 明天 去 看 病 。 Tā shēntǐ yǒudiǎn bù shūfu, tā míngtiān qù kàn bìng .He's not feeling well and he's going to the doctor tomorrow.
• 我 昨天 去 看 医生 了。 Wǒ zuótiān qù kàn yīshēng le.I went to see the doctor yesterday.

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 kàn jiārénto visit family

Example Sentences

• 我 暑假 去 看 家人。 Wǒ shǔjià qù kàn jiārén.I'm going to see my family in the summer.
• 我们 今天 去 南京 看 朋友。 Wǒmen jīntiān qù Nánjīng kàn péngyou.tWe are going to Nanjing today to see our friends.
• 明天 我 去 看 你。 Míngtiān wǒ qù kàn nǐ.Tomorrow I will go to see you.
• 我 听说 她 最近 不开心，我 想 去 看 她。 Wǒ tīngshuō tā zuìjìn bù kāixīn, wǒ xiǎng qù kàn tā.I heard that she is not happy lately and I want to go to see her.
• 张老师 没有 来 我们 家 看 我们。 Zhāng lǎoshī méiyǒu lái wǒmen jiā kàn wǒmen.Teacher Zhang didn't come to see us at home.

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。 Wǒ kànjiàn le yī zhǐ māo.I saw a cat.
• 不 好意思，我 没有 看见 你。 Bù hǎoyìsi, wǒ méiyǒu kànjiàn nǐ.I'm sorry, I didn't see you.
• 昨天 我 在 超市 看见 了 他，但是 他 没有 看见 我 。 Zuótiān wǒ zài chāoshì kànjiàn le tā, dànshì tā méiyǒu kànjiàn wǒ.I saw him at the supermarket yesterday, but he didn't see me.
• 你 能 看见 我 吗？ Nǐ néng kànjiàn wǒ ma?Can you see me?

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

Sources and further reading

AllSet Learning Wikis

• Result complements "-dao" and "-jian" (Chinese Grammar Wiki)