见 (jiàn) is a Chinese character meaning “to see”. It is written from 冂 (down box) and 儿 (child; legs), one enclosing the other, and takes 4 strokes.
Build the character for “to see”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
冂 + 儿
Enclosing structure
Structure from: Unicode U+89C1 与 hanzi-writer-data 现代字形笔画核验：第 1–2 笔构成 冂，第 3–4 笔构成 儿
Memory aid
An open frame 冂 carried on a pair of legs 儿 — a window that walks out to look at the world. Both parts really are in this character.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
4 strokes
In real words
- 看见kàn jiànto see; to catch sight of见 = jiàn
- 见面jiàn miànto meet face to face见 = jiàn
- 再见zài jiàngoodbye; see you again见 = jiànHSK 1
- 罕见hǎn jiànrare; seldom seen见 = jiàn
- 偏见piān jiànprejudice; bias见 = jiàn
Go deeper
All readings
to see
to see; to catch sight of; to meet with
用眼睛看到；跟人会面。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 看见kàn jiànto see; to catch sight of见 = jiàn
- 见面jiàn miànto meet face to face见 = jiàn
- 再见zài jiàngoodbye; see you again见 = jiànHSK 1
- 罕见hǎn jiànrare; seldom seen见 = jiàn
- 偏见piān jiànprejudice; bias见 = jiàn
Rare readings, not taught: xiàn
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 见 mean?
见 (jiàn) means to see; to catch sight of; to meet with.
How do you pronounce 见?
It is pronounced jiàn.
What parts is 见 made of?
冂 (down box) and 儿 (child; legs), one enclosing the other. The recorded source is: Unicode U+89C1 与 hanzi-writer-data 现代字形笔画核验：第 1–2 笔构成 冂，第 3–4 笔构成 儿. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 见 have?
4. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 见?
见. The radical is how the character is filed in a dictionary — it is not the whole story of how the character is built.
What words use 见?
Common ones are 看见 and 见面. The reading of 见 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.