看

kàn
HSK 3
#76 most
frequent character
to see, to look at, to read
verb

Character breakdown

Source: Make Me a Hanzi.

看 has 目 eye as the picture part, giving the first meaning 'to look'. Its top part was once a sound part, but that old sound is no longer visible. The meaning grew to 'to see' and 'to watch'. Read kān, it means 'to guard'.

Drawn as: eye

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Example Sentences

我想去看电影。
wǒxiǎngqù kàn diànyǐng 。
I want to go watch a movie.
她在看书。
tāzài kànshū 。
She is reading a book.
你能看见那座山吗？
nǐ néng kànjiàn nà zuò shān ma ？
Can you see that mountain?

Grammar Points

HSK 4
Expressing "it depends" with "kan"
HSK 3
Appearance with "kanqilai"
HSK 4
Assessing situations with "kanlai"在…看来

Same Characters, Different Readings

看kān
to look after, to take care of

Words with similar meanings

查看zhākàn
to check
This term implies a more careful or detailed examination compared to '看'.
瞧qiáo
to glance; to look
This is more informal and often implies a quick or casual look.
观察guānchá
to observe
This word suggests a more systematic or analytical form of looking compared to '看'.

Words Starting With 看

看见kàn jiàn
to see; to catch sight of
看法kàn fǎ
way of looking at a thing; view; opinion
看不起kàn bu qǐ
to look down upon; to despise
看待kàn dài
to look upon; to regard
看望kàn wàng
to visit; to pay a call to

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Public Lists with 看

Basic Verbs
Core action verbs like 'go,' 'come,' 'eat,' 'see,' commonly encountered in HSK.
HSK 3
All words for the HSK 3 test
Movies, TV & Media
Film genres, TV shows, news broadcasts, streaming, and basic film terms.