看
khòaⁿ
The Hokkien verb for 'look' is 看 (khòaⁿ).
The verb 看 is used broadly to cover the English meanings of 'to look', 'to see' or 'to watch'.
Meaning: to try to see (verb)
How does it change in a sentence?
To express that you 'have seen' or 'have looked at' something, you can add the aspect marker 過 after 看 to form 看過.
How do you pronounce it?
khòaⁿ
Did you know?
- The word 看 can be used to mean 'to try' or 'to test' something out, such as trying a new food or testing a machine.
- The word 看 is often used in colloquial Hokkien to mean 'to take care of' or 'to watch over' someone, similar to the English 'watch over' a child.
- In some Southern Min dialects, 看 is used in a phrase meaning 'to ignore' or 'to overlook', essentially 'looking' past something.
Example conversation
Jiayi and Guoqiang are looking at a photo together.
- 佳怡 Chia-yi國強，你看這張照片。Kók-kiông, lí khuànn tsit-tiáng siàng-piàn.Guoqiang, look at this photo.
- 國強 Kok-kiang我想看，在哪裡？Góa siūⁿ-beh khuànn, tsai tó-uī?I want to see, where is it?
- 佳怡 Chia-yi就在這裡。Tsiū-tsī tsai tsia.It is right here.
- 國強 Kok-kiang喔，很漂亮！O, chin pì-liáng!Oh, it is very beautiful!
