见 (jiàn) is the verb of successful perception and meeting. On its own it means "see / meet" a person (想见你, 再见). Attached to another verb it becomes a resultative complement that marks the perception actually landing: 看 is "look," but 看见 is "see"; 听 is "listen," but 听见 is "hear." And in its two-syllable form 见面 (jiànmiàn, "meet face to face") it's a separable verb that famously cannot take an object directly — the single most common 见 mistake. Master those three faces and 见 is done.
Sense 1: see / meet (someone)
As a bare verb, 见 most often means "meet / see" a person, especially an arranged or purposeful meeting. It's the 见 inside 再见 (zàijiàn, "goodbye," literally "see again").
明天见！
míngtiān jiàn
See you tomorrow!
老板下午要见一个客户。
lǎobǎn xiàwǔ yào jiàn yí ge kèhù
The boss is meeting a client this afternoon. — 见 = have a (business) meeting with.
Sense 2: 见面 — the separable verb you can't put an object on
见面 is a 离合词: 见 ("meet") + 面 ("face"). Because 面 is already its built-in object, you can't stack another object after it. To say who you're meeting, use a coverb like 跟 / 和 before 见面, or split the word and slot material inside.
你什么时候能跟他见面？
nǐ shénme shíhou néng gēn tā jiànmiàn
When can you meet with him? — the person rides on 跟, never after 见面.
Sense 3: resultative complement — 看见, 听见, 遇见
This is where 见 earns its keep. Stuck onto a perception verb, 见 says the perceiving succeeded: 看见 "catch sight of," 听见 "hear," 遇见 "run into," 梦见 "see in a dream." The base verb is the activity; 见 is the result.
我看见他从楼里出来了。
wǒ kànjiàn tā cóng lóu lǐ chūlái le
I saw him come out of the building. — 看 (look) + 见 (perceive).
我在书店遇见了一个大学同学。
wǒ zài shūdiàn yùjiàn le yí ge dàxué tóngxué
I ran into a college classmate at the bookstore. — 遇见, an unplanned encounter.
Sense 4: 见到 — manage to see / lay eyes on
见到 (or 见着, jiànzháo, colloquial) stresses attaining the sighting — meeting someone in person, finally getting to see them.
见到你真高兴。
jiàndào nǐ zhēn gāoxìng
So glad to meet you.
我一直没见到他本人。
wǒ yìzhí méi jiàndào tā běnrén
I never got to see him in person.
As a noun: 意见, 见解
见 also forms nouns of opinion and insight — 意见 "opinion / objection," 见解 "considered view," 成见 "prejudice."
我对这件事没什么意见。
wǒ duì zhè jiàn shì méi shénme yìjiàn
I don't have any objection to this.
Key collocations
| Phrase | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 再见 | zàijiàn | goodbye (lit. "see again") |
| 见面 | jiànmiàn | meet face to face (separable) |
| 看见 | kànjiàn | see, catch sight of |
| 听见 | tīngjiàn | hear |
| 遇见 / 碰见 | yùjiàn / pèngjiàn | run into, come across |
| 见到 | jiàndào | get to see, meet |
| 意见 | yìjiàn | opinion, objection |
| 好久不见 | hǎojiǔ bú jiàn | long time no see |
Grammar notes
In modern speech a bare 见 for "saw" sounds clipped or bookish; day-to-day you say 看见 / 看到 / 见到. Bare 见 stays alive mainly in set frames (再见, 明天见, 好久不见), in formal/written meetings (见客户, 接见), and as the complement itself. Note that 再见 and 好久不见 are fixed — you can't hang an object on them (see the mistakes below). For the activity side of looking and watching, see 看 (look / watch); the perception complement in depth is on resultative 见 (perception).
Watch out for near-synonyms
见 is laying eyes on / meeting; 认识 (rènshi) is being acquainted with / recognizing. 我见过他 = "I've met him (once, in the flesh)"; 我认识他 = "I know him (we're acquainted)." You can 见 a stranger but you can only 认识 someone you actually know — see 认识 (know / recognize).
Common Mistakes
1. Putting an object on 见面. 面 is already the object — the person goes on 跟 / 和, or you use bare 见.
❌ 我明天见面我的老师。
Incorrect — 见面 can't take an object. Say 跟老师见面, or drop 面: 见我的老师.
✅ 我明天跟老师见面。
wǒ míngtiān gēn lǎoshī jiànmiàn
I'm meeting my teacher tomorrow.
2. Using bare 见 for a chance encounter. For "ran into," the result needs 到 or a verb like 遇见 / 碰见.
❌ 我今天在路上见了小王。
Sounds incomplete — a chance sighting takes 遇见 / 碰见 / 看见, not bare 见了.
✅ 我今天在路上碰见了小王。
wǒ jīntiān zài lùshang pèngjiàn le Xiǎo Wáng
I ran into Xiao Wang on the street today.
3. Adding an object to the fixed phrase 好久不见. It's frozen — no object allowed.
❌ 好久不见你！
Incorrect — 好久不见 is a set phrase. Say just 好久不见！or 好久没见到你了。
✅ 好久不见！
hǎojiǔ bú jiàn
Long time no see!
4. Using 见 for watching a film. Screen-watching is 看, not 见.
❌ 我们晚上去见电影吧。
Wrong verb — you 看 a movie (an activity), you don't 见 it.
✅ 我们晚上去看电影吧。
wǒmen wǎnshang qù kàn diànyǐng ba
Let's go see a movie tonight.
Key Takeaways
- Bare 见 = meet / see a person, alive mostly in set frames (再见, 明天见) and formal meetings (见客户).
- 见面 is separable — no direct object; use 跟他见面 or split it: 见了一次面.
- As a complement, 见 marks successful perception: 看→看见, 听→听见, 遇→遇见. Negate with 没.
- 见到 stresses getting to see someone; 意见 / 见解 are the noun senses (opinion, insight).
- 见 (lay eyes on) ≠ 认识 (be acquainted): 我见过他 but 我认识他.
Related Topics
- 看 (kàn) — look / watch / read / see (a doctor)HSK 1 — 看 (kàn) is directed attention with the eyes or the mind: look at, watch, read silently (看书, 看电视), visit or see a doctor (看朋友, 看医生), reckon (我看…), and depend on (看情况). English splits watch / read / look / see — Chinese keeps one verb.
- 认识 (rènshi) — know / recognize (a person)HSK 1 — 认识 (rènshi) is 'be acquainted with, recognize' — a person, a character, or a road you've encountered before. It's one of the several verbs Chinese splits English 'know' into: 认识 (acquainted), 知道 (know a fact), 会 (know how to), 懂 (understand).