看
to look; to watch; to read
HSK level
- Pinyin
- kàn
- Part of speech
- verb
- Level
- HSK 1
- Strokes
- 9
- Register
- neutral
- In episodes
- 4
Stroke order for 看
看 is written with 9 strokes. The animation replays automatically.
What does 看 mean?
看 (kàn) is the all-purpose Chinese verb for using your eyes — to look, to watch, to read, and even to visit.
Chinese doesn't split these meanings the way English does: you 看电视 'watch TV,' 看书 'read a book,' 看医生 'see a doctor,' and 看朋友 'visit a friend.' The verb is neutral in register and works in every context from casual chat to formal writing. Two notes: first, 看 alone often means a quick glance, while 看见 / 看到 means 'to see (successfully)' — the result of looking.
Second, when 看 is reduplicated 看看 ('take a look'), it softens the verb into a casual, low-pressure request: 我看看 'let me take a peek.' For 'to read aloud / study,' use 读 or 念 instead.
Memory hook: The top of 看 is 手 (hand); the bottom is 目 (eye). A hand over the eye, shading it to look into the distance.
Hear 看 in real episodes
看 appears in 4 Fluentide podcast episodes at natural native speed. Each sentence plays at the easiest difficulty it exists in — switch it to hear the same moment at your level, with full pinyin and English throughout.
他们看很多人每天走的步数，还有他们的身体。
They look at how many steps many people walk each day, and at their bodies.
Must You Walk 10,000 Steps? Research Finds Benefits Around 7,000
Yu喜欢看小说。
Yu likes reading novels.
A Hubei Man Copies Tomb-Robbing Novels and Gets Twelve Years in Prison
霍莉打电话，写了很多字给他们看。
Holly called and wrote a lot of words for them to see.
A Senator Pays a Bakery Bill After Six Years and a Viral Post
你想坐星舰，去天上看地球吗？
Would you like to ride Starship and look at the Earth from space?
Starship Reaches Orbit for the First Time, Deploys 26 Starlink Satellites — Then Comes Home Early
Example sentences
我喜欢看书。
Wǒ xǐhuan kàn shū.
I like reading.
neutral
你看，那是我妈妈。
Nǐ kàn, nà shì wǒ māma.
Look — that's my mom.
spoken
晚上我们一起看电影吧。
Wǎnshang wǒmen yìqǐ kàn diànyǐng ba.
Let's watch a movie together tonight.
spoken
他生病了，要去看医生。
Tā shēngbìng le, yào qù kàn yīshēng.
He's sick and has to see a doctor.
neutral
Common phrases with 看
Synonyms
Don't confuse 看 with
Frequently asked questions
Related words from the same episodes
Acquire it by listening
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