看 Stroke Order — How to Write 看
看 is written in 9 strokes, following the standard Chinese stroke order. Start from the radical 目, then complete the remaining strokes.
Stroke order matters in Chinese: it keeps the character balanced, and it is how dictionaries and handwriting input methods expect a character to be written.
看 Radical and Character Components
看 is an ideographic compound. Shielding one's eyes 目 with a hand 手 to look to the distance.
Radical: 目 + 4 more strokes
看 Pronunciation and Pinyin
- kàn
- kān
Meanings of 看 in Chinese
1
kàn看
To direct one's gaze towards someone or something; to look at; to see; to watch.
他每天都看书。
He reads books every day.
To look, watch, observe, examine, or judge; often implies understanding or making a judgment, or anticipating a trend. It can mean to see a doctor, to watch a performance, to be optimistic about something, or to see through a situation.
医生正在给病人看病。
The doctor is seeing a patient.
To visit; to call on (someone).
我周末会去看望我的父母。
I will visit my parents this weekend.
To view, treat, or regard (e.g., to value, to look down upon, to treat impartially).
我们应该平等看待每一个人。
We should treat everyone equally.
to think, believe; opinion, view.
依我看，这个方案很不错。
In my opinion, this plan is quite good.
To try something out to observe the result; to give something a go and see what happens.
你可以试试看，也许会有惊喜。
You can give it a try; perhaps you'll be pleasantly surprised.
to watch out for; to be careful (lest something bad happens)
别碰，看烫手
Don't touch it, watch out you'll burn your hand.
To arrange or prepare something, such as serving drinks or arranging seating for guests.
宴会前，请大家帮忙把酒菜都看好
Before the banquet, everyone please help arrange all the food and drinks.
2
kān看
To guard, watch over, or monitor for protection or care, often referring to nursing or looking after someone/something.
她正在在医院看护病人。
She is nursing a patient in the hospital.
Common Words and Phrases with 看
1
signboard
新开的咖啡馆请设计师制作了一个独特的看板，希望能吸引路人的目光。
The newly opened coffee shop hired a designer to create a unique signboard, hoping to catch the attention of passersby.
2
To belittle; to look down upon someone.
你不要看扁小明，他其实很有潜力。
Don't underestimate Xiao Ming; he actually has a lot of potential.
3
To see a doctor or a patient.
我感觉有点不舒服，所以决定明天去看病。
I feel a bit unwell, so I decided to see a doctor tomorrow.
4
Cannot bear to see (something disturbing or unpleasant); not worth seeing (due to poor quality).
小猫受伤的样子真让人看不得，我赶紧把它送到了宠物医院。
The sight of the injured kitten was truly unbearable to watch, I quickly took it to the pet hospital.
5
6
Can't bear the sight of; can't stand to watch.
看到那只流浪狗饿得发抖，他实在看不过，就给它买了一些食物。
Seeing that the stray dog was trembling with hunger, he couldn't bear to just watch, so he bought it some food.
7
Unable to see; invisible.
由于雾太大，我们几乎看不见前面的路。
Due to the heavy fog, we could barely see the road ahead.
8
To look down upon, belittle, or despise someone or something.
她从不看不起任何为生活努力奋斗的人。
She never looks down on anyone who strives hard for a living.
9
cannot see clearly
我戴着眼镜也看不清黑板上的字。
Even with my glasses on, I can't clearly see the words on the blackboard.
10
To ask someone to take charge of serving tea to guests.
客人来了，爷爷对奶奶说：'老伴儿，快去看茶，别让客人久等。'
When the guest arrived, Grandpa said to Grandma: 'Dear, quickly go serve tea, don't let our guest wait too long.'
11
to guard the threshing floor during the harvest season
爷爷每年秋天都要到村头看场，确保粮食安全。
Grandpa goes to guard the threshing floor at the village entrance every autumn to ensure the grain's safety.
12
to regard as; to take for
他把这次经历看成是一次宝贵的学习机会。
He regards this experience as a valuable learning opportunity.
13
To see, make out, perceive, or discern something through observation; to realize or understand.
我能从你的眼神里看出你很累。
I can tell from your eyes that you are very tired.
14
to see through; to discern the truth or nature of something/someone
她一眼就看穿了小明的借口，知道他只是不想帮忙。
She immediately saw through Xiao Ming's excuse, knowing he just didn't want to help.
15
To treat; to regard; to look upon.
我们应该以积极的心态看待生活中的困难。
We should view difficulties in life with a positive mindset.
More words with 看
- guān观kàn看To watch, look at, or view.
- chá察kàn看inspect, examine
- kuī窥kàn看To peep at or to sneak a look at.
- nài耐kàn看Enduringly attractive
- zhà乍kàn看at first glance
- zhào照kàn看look after, take care of
- cān参kàn看refer to; see
- tà踏kàn看inspect a site, survey
- tàn探kàn看look around, visit
- tōu偷kàn看Peep, Peek
- kàn看fǎ法opinion, view
- kàn看jiàn见see, spot
- kàn看lái来It seems, It appears
- kàn看qīng清See clearly, Understand clearly
- kàn看shū书read a book, read
- kàn看sì似seemingly, appears
- kàn看wàng望visit, call on
- bié别kàn看Don't look, Don't judge
- chá查kàn看check, view
- hǎo好kàn看good-looking, beautiful
Idioms with 看
- kàn看bù不shàng上yǎn眼to look down upon
- kān看cài菜chī吃fàn饭adapt to circumstances
- kàn看fēng风shǐ使chuán船adapt to changing circumstances
- kàn看fēng风shǐ使duò舵adapt to changing circumstances
- kàn看fēng风shǐ驶chuán船adapt to changing circumstances
- kàn看fēng风zhuǎn转duò舵adapt to changing circumstances
- kān看jiā家běn本lǐng领one's special skill or unique expertise
- kān看jiā家běn本shì事one's special skill or unique talent
- kàn看jǐng景shēng生qíng情act according to circumstances
- kān看pò破hóng红chén尘disillusioned with the mortal world
- kàn看rén人shuō说huà话tailor words to the listener
- kàn看rén人xià下cài菜tailor approach to the person
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Open the tool →Questions about 看
What does 看 mean in Chinese?
看 (kàn) means “To visit” in Chinese.
How do you pronounce 看?
看 has 2 pronunciations: kàn, kān.
How many strokes does 看 have?
看 has 9 strokes.
How do you write 看?
看 is written in 9 strokes, starting from the radical 目. See the animated stroke order on this page.
What is the radical of 看?
The radical of 看 is 目, and 看 is an ideographic compound.
