看
kàn/kʰän⁵¹/
In Chinese, the English phrase 'look' is expressed by the verb 看 (kàn). Wiktionary also lists 視 / 视 (shì) and 見 / 见 (jiàn).
Meaning: to try to see (verb)
Ways to say it
| Chinese | Romanization (Wiktionary) | IPA | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 看 | kàn | /kʰän⁵¹/ (Mandarin, Standard Chinese, Sinological IPA) /kʰan²¹³/ (Mandarin, Chengdu, Sinological IPA) |
|
| 視 / 视 | shì | literary | |
| 看 | khòaⁿ, khàn | /kʰuã¹¹/ (Min Nan, Hokkien, Xiamen, Quanzhou, Zhangzhou, Jinjiang, Sinological IPA, Taipei, General Taiwanese) /kʰuã⁴¹/ (Min Nan, Hokkien, Xiamen, Quanzhou, Zhangzhou, Jinjiang, Sinological IPA, General Taiwanese) |
Hokkien |
| 見 / 见 | jiàn | in compounds, literary |
The verb 看 is polysemous and can mean to look at, to watch (a movie) or to read (a book) depending on the object. Additionally, the form 看着像 (using 看 with 像) is used to describe how something or someone appears to the eye.
Which one should you use?
While 看 refers to the action of looking, 看见 refers to the successful perception of an object or 'to see'.
Is it said differently in some regions?
The form кан is used in Dungan, while the form 看 (khòaⁿ, khàn) is used in Hokkien.
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
Reduplicating the verb as 看看 softens the tone, making the request or action sound more casual, brief or tentative. In its standard form, 看 can mean to look at, to watch (a movie) or to read (a book) depending on the object.
How do you pronounce it?
The Hokkien form 看 is pronounced /kʰän⁵¹/ (khòaⁿ, khàn).
Did you know?
- The word for 'look' in Chinese is related to the Tibetan word མཁན་པོ (mkhan po), which refers to a 'professor' or 'abbot'.
Examples in context
- 请看这本书。Please have a look at this book.This example shows how to use 看 to request someone to look at a book.Tatoeba #5581710 by verdastelo9604, translation #954240 by CK
- 你看着像猴。You look like a monkey.This example demonstrates the usage of 看 to describe an appearance.Tatoeba #5780564 by verdastelo9604, translation #3348067 by CK
- 请看看这里。Please take a look at this.This example uses 看 to ask someone to take a look at a specific location.Tatoeba #8777611 by crescat, translation #6029125 by Huskion
- 可以请你看一下这个文件吗？(Kěyǐ qǐng nǐ kàn yīxià zhège wénjiàn ma?)Can you please look at this document?
- 请瞧一下这幅画，您觉得如何？(Qǐng qiáo yīxià zhè fú huà, nín juéde rúhé?)Please have a look at this painting, what do you think?
- 来看一看这本新书吧！(Lái kàn yī kàn zhè běn xīnshū ba!)Come and take a look at this new book!
- 你瞧瞧外面的天气，好像要下雨了。(Nǐ qiáo qiáo wàimiàn de tiānqì, hǎoxiàng yào xià yǔ le.)Take a look at the weather outside, it seems like it's going to rain.
- 278 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Yuting and Junjie are looking at a photo on a phone.
- 雨婷 Yuting俊杰，你看这张照片！Jùnjié, nǐ kàn zhè zhāng zhàopiàn!Junjie, look at this photo!
- 俊杰 Junjie在哪里？让我看看。Zài nǎlǐ? Ràng wǒ kànkan.Where is it? Let me see.
- 雨婷 Yuting看这里，好漂亮吧？Kàn zhèlǐ, hǎo piàoliang ba?Look here, it's beautiful, right?
- 俊杰 Junjie真的，非常好看。Zhēnde, fēicháng hǎokàn.True, it looks great.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “look” translations and entries 看, 看, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries 看, 見, 視, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
