“To see”: kàn 看 vs. kànjiàn/kàndào 看见/看到 vs. - Cchatty

“To see”: kàn 看 vs. kànjiàn/kàndào 看见/看到 vs. kànchūlái 看出来 vs. jiàn 见 vs. jiànmiàn 见面 vs. jiàndào 见到 vs. guānguāng 观光 vs. míngbái 明白.

This is a perfect example of how ambiguous verbs can be in English compared with Chinese, even though English is so much more precise and rich in synonyms when it comes to nouns and adjectives!

The word kàn 看 means “to see” only in the sense of to go visit family or friends, and must be preceded by the word “go” or “come”:

I want to go home to see my parents.
Wǒ xiǎng huíjiā qù kàn wǒde fùmǔ.
我想回家去看我的父母。

To say “see” in the sense of to catch sight of someone, use kànjiàn 看见 or kàndào 看到:

Yesterday I saw a cat in the park.
Wǒ zuótiān zài gōngyuánlǐ kànjiàn le (OR kàndào le) yìzhī māo.
我昨天在公园里看见了（看到了）一只猫。

To say “see” in the sense of to perceive or discern something, use kànchūlái 看出来：

I can see you’re interested in Chinese.
Wǒ kàndechūlái nǐ duì Hànyǔ gǎn xìngqu.
我看得出来你对汉语感兴趣。

To say “see” in the sense of to meet with someone, use jiàn 见, if speaking colloquially (informally):

He angrily said: “I want to see your manager!”
✔ CC: Tā shēngqìde shuō: “Wǒ yào jiàn nǐde jīnglǐ!”
他生气地说: “我要见你的经理!”
✖ BC: Tā shēngqìde shuō: “Wǒ yào kàn nǐde jīnglǐ!”
他生气地说: “我要看你的经理!”
(I want to look at your manager!)

To say “see” in the sense of to meet with someone when you have arranged to meet them beforehand, use gēn [someone] jiànmiàn 跟 . . . 见面：

Tomorrow evening I’m going to meet my friends at a Chinese restaurant.
✔ CC: Míngtiān wǎnshàng wǒ huì zài Zhōngcānguǎn gēn wǒde péngyou jiànmiàn.
明天晚上我会在中餐馆跟我的朋友见面。
✖ BC: Míngtiān wǎnshàng wǒ huì zài Zhōngcānguǎn jiànmiàn wǒde péngyou.
明天晚上我会在中餐馆见面我的朋友。

To say two people haven’t “seen” each other in a while, simply use méi jiànmiàn 没见面:

We haven’t seen each other for 20 years.
Wǒmen èrshínián méi jiànmiàn le.
我们二十年没见面了。

BUT if you say one person hasn’t seen another person in a while, use méi gēn [someone] jiànmiàn 没跟 . . . 见面 :

I haven’t seen him for 20 years.
✔ CC: Wǒ èrshínián méi gēn tā jiànmiàn le.
我二十年没跟他见面了。
✖ BC: Wǒ èrshínián méi kàn tā.
我二十年没看他。

To say “see” in the sense of to meet when you have not made arrangements beforehand to meet them, use jiàndào 见到：

Yesterday I saw (met) the new Chinese-language teacher.
✔ CC: Zuótiān wǒ zài xuéxiào jiàndào le xīnde Hànyǔ lǎoshī.
昨天我在学校见到了新的汉语老师。
✖ BC: Zuótiān wǒ zài xuéxiào kàn le xīnde Hànyǔ lǎoshī.
昨天我在学校看了新的汉语老师。

If you only saw the new Chinese teacher from afar, but didn’t speak with him or her, use kànjiàn 看见 or kàndào 看到：

Zuótiān wǒ zài xuéxiào kànjiàn le (kàndào le) xīnde Hànyǔ lǎoshī.
昨天我在学校看见了 (看到了) 新的汉语老师。

To say “see” a place in the sense of “to visit” or “see the sights,” use guānguāng 观光：

I’ve always wanted to (go) see the Great Wall.
Wǒ yìzhí xiǎng qù Chángchéng guānguāng.
我一直想去长城观光。

To say “see” in the sense of “understand,” use míngbái 明白：

I can see what you mean.
Wǒ míngbái nǐde yìsi.
我明白你的意思。