Writing
看 (kàn) — how to say "to look" in Chinese
看
To look, to watch, to read
verb
How to use it
Does 看 mean you actually see it?
看 is the action: looking, watching or reading. It does not promise that perception succeeds. 看见 adds 见, showing the result — you actually see it. So 我看电影 describes watching, while seeing something specific is 看见. Other uses of 看 exist too.
我看电影
wǒ kàn diàn yǐng
I watch a movie.
Radicals / Keys
目
Eye
#109 · mù · 5 strokes
Synonyms
Collocations
看书
kàn shū
to read a book
看电视
kàn diànshì
to watch TV
看电影
kàn diànyǐng
to watch a movie
Examples
下午我和朋友在北京看电影。
In the afternoon, my friend and I watch a movie in Beijing.
Mnemonic
[kàn-] Candy the cat stands on a balcony, peering at the world through the lens of the character 看 👀. The balcony rail resembles a hand 手 holding up a giant eye 目. With this 看 in her view, Candy feels like she can read everything below.
Another reading
看kān
verb
look after, watch over, guard
看门
kān mén
guard the door
看家
kān jiā
watch over the house
Frequently asked questions
How to say look in Chinese?
"to look" in Chinese is 看 (kàn).
看 meaning in English
看 (kàn) means "To look, to watch, to read".
How is 看 pronounced?
It is pronounced kàn (written as kan). You can listen to the pronunciation on this page.
How do you write "to look" in Chinese characters?
It is written 看 and has 9 strokes. The Writing section above animates the stroke order and lets you trace it.
What HSK level is 看?
看 belongs to the HSK 1 vocabulary list.
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