看见
kànjiàn · HSK 1
see
👀 看 (look) + 见 (perceive) = seeing; the eye 目 under a hand 手 shading it
看 shows a hand 手 over an eye 目, like shading your brow to look into the distance. 见 is an old pictograph of a person with a big eye on top — perceiving. Together: actively look and perceive.
看 — hand 手 over eye 目
看 is an associative compound showing a hand (手, simplified to 龹) shading an eye (目), depicting someone shielding their eyes to look into the distance. From this concrete gesture it broadened to mean 'to look,' 'to watch,' and later 'to read' or 'to consider.'
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.