Chinese word

看到

Pronunciation

Pinyinkàn dào

Meaning

  • verbsee

Example

我在门口看到了他。wǒ zài mén kǒu kàn dào le tā

I saw him at the entrance.

Illustration for 看到 (see)

More examples

昨天我在公园里看到了一个朋友。zuó tiān wǒ zài gōng yuán lǐ kàn dào le yí gè péng yǒu

Yesterday I saw a friend in the park.

Core concept

The eyes catch a person or thing, often without the person deliberately searching for it.

Common phrases

  • 没看到méi kàn dào

    not see

  • 看到朋友kàn dào péng yǒu

    see a friend

  • 在公园看到他zài gōng yuán kàn dào tā

    see him in the park

Similar words

看见kàn jiàn: See a person or thing when it enters the field of vision.
见jiàn: See or notice a person or thing in everyday speech.

Definition in Chinese

通过视线或偶然碰到而注意到某物或某人，常用于描述瞬间看见或意外遇见的情形。tōng guò shì xiàn huò ǒu rán pèng dào ér zhù yì dào mǒu wù huò mǒu rén cháng yòng yú miáo shù shùn jiān kàn jiàn huò yì wài yù jiàn de qíng xíng

Word origin

The compound 看到 (kàndào, "see") joins 看 (kàn, "look") with 到 (dào, "arrive"), suggesting that the act of looking reaches the object.

Usage tips

  • English often uses one word for both planned and unplanned seeing, while this Chinese verb is especially useful for reporting what suddenly came into view.

Other meanings

  • noticeverb
  • spotverb

Opposites

  • 看不见kàn bú jiànbe unable to seeverb

Word lists with this word