不见
bù jiàn · HSK 6
to have disappeared
🙈 不 (not) + 见 (see) = not see; gone, missing, out of sight
Straight compound: 不 negates, 见 is the verb 'to see/meet'. Common in 好久不见 (long time no see) and 不见了 (it's gone/missing).
不 — single pictograph; bird flying upward
Originally a pictograph in oracle bone script, traditionally interpreted as a bird flying up toward the sky and unable to come down, suggesting negation or refusal. Over time it became the standard negation word in Chinese, used before verbs and adjectives to mean 'not'.
见 — eye 目 over legs 儿 (人)
见 (traditional 見) is a pictograph of a person 儿 with a large eye 目 on top, emphasizing the act of seeing. The original meaning 'to see' broadened over time to include 'to meet,' 'to perceive,' and 'view/opinion.' The simplified form 见 keeps the same structure in cursive shorthand.