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瞧见 (qiáo jiàn) — to see, to catch sight of (colloquial)

Definition

A colloquial verb meaning 'to catch sight of', emphasizing the moment of spotting something. It is more casual than 看见 and always takes a complement like 见 in its negative form (瞧不见).

verb
to seeto catch sight of (colloquial)

Examples

  • 瞧见。
    Wǒ zuó tiān qiáo jiàn tā le.
    I saw him yesterday.
  • ，。
    Shān tài yuǎn le, wǒ qiáo bú jiàn.
    The mountain is too far, I can't see it.
  • ，瞧见。
    Wǒ zhǎo le yì quān, méi qiáo jiàn rèn hé rén.
    I looked around but didn't see anyone.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
补充bǔchōngVerb + complement

An action followed by its result or direction.

瞧qiáolook
见jiànsee

“瞧” gives looking and “见” gives seeing, so the action reaches the result of catching sight.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
目目mùeye
Sound part声符shēngfú
焦
焦jiāo瞧qiáo
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The left part 目 is an eye, and the right part 焦 gives the character's sound.

Open 瞧 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 見; 见 is its simplified writing.

  • 目目mùeye
  • 卩卩jiékneeling person

The traditional form 見 pairs 目 (eye) with 卩 (kneeling person), showing a kneeling figure with a large eye for a head. The simplified 见 is a later shorthand.

Open 见 →
Appears in
Senses

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