TongTong
Sign in

不见 (bù jiàn) — not to see, not to meet; to have disappeared, to be missing

Definition

不见 is the negative of 看见: 'not see / not meet', or 'gone, missing' when something disappears. For people, 失踪 is more serious and formal.

verb
not to seenot to meetto have disappearedto be missing
Easily confused

Examples

  • 不见！？
    Hǎo jiǔ bù jiàn! nǐ zuì jìn hǎo ma?
    Long time no see! How have you been lately?
  • 不见，？
    Wǒ de shǒu jī bù jiàn le, nǐ kàn jiàn le ma?
    My phone is missing. Have you seen it?
  • 不见，。
    Tā zuó tiān xià wǔ bù jiàn le, dà jiā dōu zhǎo bú dào tā.
    He disappeared yesterday afternoon; no one can find him.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

不bùnot
见jiànsee

不 negates 见, so something is not seen, giving disappearance.

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The picture in 不 originally showed a flower’s calyx; the “no” sense came later from a related character, not from this picture.

Open 不 →

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
HSK 3.0 Level 3Senses3000 Most Frequent Chinese Words5000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

Browse more HSK 3 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.