Chinese word

见过

Pronunciation

Pinyinjiàn guò

Meaning

  • verbhave seen before

Example

我以前见过他。wǒ yǐ qián jiàn guò tā

I have seen him before.

Illustration for 见过 (have seen before)

More examples

你见过这位老师吗？nǐ jiàn guò zhè wèi lǎo shī ma

Have you met this teacher before?

Core concept

An earlier encounter that leaves a person or thing familiar, whether seen briefly or met in person.

Common phrases

  • 见过面jiàn guò miàn

    have met before

Similar words

认识rèn shí: Being personally familiar with someone and knowing who they are or what they are like.
看见kàn jiàn: Visually noticing or finding a person or thing at a particular moment.
听说tīng shuō: Coming to know about something through what other people say.
见面jiàn miàn: Coming together with someone to meet face to face.

Definition in Chinese

用来表示过去曾亲眼见到或短暂见过某人或某事，侧重过去有那次经历。yòng lái biǎo shì guò qù céng qīn yǎn jiàn dào huò duǎn zàn jiàn guò mǒu rén huò mǒu shì cè zhòng guò qù yǒu nà cì jīng lì

Word origin

见过 (jiànguò, "have seen before") combines 见 (jiàn, "see") with 过 (guo, "past experience marker"), so seeing or meeting is presented as something that has happened before.

Usage tips

  • The same form works for a person, place, object, or event, while English often chooses different verbs for these kinds of past encounters.

Other meanings

  • have met beforeverb
  • knowverb

Opposites

  • 没见过面méi jiàn guò miànhave never metverb

Related words

Word lists with this word