What does 见 mean in Chinese?

见 (jiàn) means "to see" in Chinese. The new HSK exam expects you to recognise it at HSK 1.

How do you write 见?

见 is written with 4 strokes, starting from the 见 (see) radical and following standard Chinese stroke order (top to bottom, left to right). See the interactive stroke-order tool for the full animation.

What is the radical of 见?

The radical of 见 is 见 (see, Kangxi radical #147). Other common HSK characters using the same radical include 觉.

How many strokes does 见 have?

The Chinese character 见 has 4 strokes.

What HSK level is 见?

On the new HSK exam syllabus, 见 is a character to recognise at HSK 1.

见 (jiàn): Meaning, Stroke Order, Radical & Examples

见

jiàn

to see

HSK 1 character 4 strokes Radical: 见 (see)

Quick Answer

见 (jiàn) means "to see" with 4 strokes, radical 见 (see), HSK 1 on the new exam.

Full dictionary entry for 见 →Animated stroke-order for 见 →

Pronunciation

jiàn

Meaning

Primary: to see

Etymology

Oracle-bone origin

见 is a pictograph showing a human figure with an oversized eye on top, depicting a person with vision emphasised. Oracle bone forms clearly show 目 (eye) above 儿 (a kneeling or standing person), directly representing the act of seeing. It is one of the most transparent pictographs in the language and also serves as a productive radical.

Form evolution

Oracle bone and bronze forms show the eye prominently, sometimes rotated horizontally, sitting on a curved human body. Seal script stood the eye upright over a clearly drawn 儿 person. Clerical and regular script regularised the shape into the traditional 見. The simplified 见 reduces the eye component to a box with two short horizontal strokes, echoing the simplification of 貝 to 贝.

How the meaning evolved

The core meaning has always been to see or perceive, and this remained stable across three thousand years. It extended early into meaning to meet with (见面), to be seen by, and to appear, as well as the passive marker 见 in classical Chinese. In modern Mandarin it also functions as a result complement (看见, 听见) indicating successful perception.

Cultural note

The idiom 见仁见智 (different people see differently, literally 'the benevolent see benevolence, the wise see wisdom') comes from the Yijing and captures the Chinese preference for acknowledging multiple valid perspectives. Learners often confuse 见 with 看: 看 is the active process of looking, 见 is the achieved result of seeing, which is why 看见 means 'to look and successfully see'.

Mnemonic

An eye on legs — to see

Basic info

Pinyin	jiàn
Meanings	to see
Stroke count	4 strokes
Radical	见 (#147: see)
New HSK exam	Recognise at HSK 1
Frequency	#225 most common

Example sentences

再见！明天见。
Zàijiàn! Míngtiān jiàn.
Goodbye! See you tomorrow.
From 见 (HSK 1)
明天再见！
Míngtiān zàijiàn!
See you tomorrow!
From 再见 (HSK 1)
我看见一只猫。
Wǒ kànjiàn yī zhī māo.
I see a cat.
From 看见 (HSK 1)

Words containing 见

Word	Pinyin	Meaning	HSK
见	jiàn	to see	HSK 1
再见	zàijiàn	good-bye	HSK 1
看见	kànjiàn	to see	HSK 1
见面	jiànmiàn	meet	HSK 3
意见	yìjiàn	Opinion	HSK 4
不见得	bújiàndé	Not necessarily	HSK 7-9
可见	kějiàn	so; it`s thus clear	HSK 5
常见	chángjiàn	common, frequently seen	HSK 3