When learning Chinese, you'll often discover that a single character can have many different meanings. Take the character 看 (kàn) for example — it has at least five distinct meanings! Can you guess them all?

看: to watch; to read

This is often the first meaning of 看 (kàn) that people learn.

It refers to actions we do with our eyes, such as watching or reading.

For example:

看电影

kàn diàn yǐng

to watch a movie

看书

kàn shū

to read a book

看: to see or meet (a friend)

When you visit a friend or a relative, like your grandma, at her house, you can also use 看 (kàn) to mean "to see" someone.

For example:

去朋友家看朋友

qù péng you jiā kàn péng you

to visit a friend at his/her house

[Literal meaning: to go-friend-home-to see-friend]

看: to see (a doctor)

When you go to the hospital to see a doctor, you can also use 看(kàn):

看病

kàn bìng

to see a doctor

[Literal meaning: to see-illness]

or

看医生

kàn yī shēng

to see a doctor

看: to watch out

If you're walking down the street with a friend, and he/she suddenly shouts, "看车 (kàn chē)", it means:

"Be careful, watch out (a car is coming)!"

Another example is:

看路!

kàn lù!

Watch the road!

看: to think or consider

看 (kàn) also means "to think" or "to consider".

For example:

我看这个计划不错。wǒ kàn zhè ge jì huà bú cuò.

I think this plan is great.

你怎么看？

nǐ zěn me kàn?

What do you think?

Source: That's Mandarin

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