TongTong
Sign in

看中 (kàn zhòng) — to take a fancy to and decide on; to have one's eye on (after consideration)

Definition

看中 (kàn zhòng) is a colloquial verb meaning to pick out or settle on something after looking it over — used for choosing houses, jobs, candidates, etc. 青睐 is its formal, written counterpart, used when a superior shows favor toward a person.

verb
to take a fancy to and decide onto have one's eye on (after consideration)
Easily confused

Examples

  • 看中，。
    Tā kàn zhòng le zhè jiā gōng sī de qián jǐng, jué dìng jiā rù.
    He took a fancy to the prospects of this company and decided to join.
  • 看中，。
    Tā kàn zhòng le yì suǒ fáng zi, dàn jué de jià gé tài gāo.
    She settled on a house, but felt the price was too high.
  • 看中，。
    Lǎo bǎn kàn zhòng le tā de néng lì, tí bá tā dāng jīng lǐ.
    The boss took a liking to his ability and promoted him to manager.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
补充bǔchōngVerb + complement

An action followed by its result or direction.

看kànlook
中zhōnghit

The 看 of looking finds a target that 中, 'hits', so one settles on it.

Characters in this word

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

The shape 看 puts 手 (hand) over 目 (eye), showing a hand placed above the eyes to gaze into the distance.

Open 看 →

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

The original picture showed a flagpole with a drum in the middle, set up in the center of a field.

Open 中 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 6Thinking & Cognition

Browse more HSK 6 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.