见面 (jiàn miàn) — to meet (in person), to see each other

Definition

见面 means a planned or social 'to meet' in person, usually between two people. Unlike 遇到/遇见/碰见 (chance encounters), this implies an arranged get-together. Related to 见, but 见 can also mean 'to see' in general.

verb

to meet (in person)to see each other

Measure word · 次

Examples

见面。
Wǒ men zhǎo gè dì fāng jiàn miàn ba.
Let's find a place to meet.
。
Wǒ jīn tiān xià wǔ gēn tā jiàn guò yí cì miàn.
I met with him once this afternoon.
？
Nǐ hé tā yǐ jīng jiàn guò miàn le ma?
Have you already met with her?

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

见jiànsee

面miànface

见 means see and 面 means face, so together they express seeing someone's face, i.e. meeting.

Characters in this word

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 →

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

面 originally drew a man’s face, with one eye exaggerated; the horizontal stroke was added later.

Open 面 →