看 kān / kàn — to look after; to take care of; to watch; to guard; it depends; think
我喜欢看书。Wǒ xǐ huan kàn shū.I like reading books.
Common words: 看到 (kàn dào)、看见 (kàn jiàn)、好看 (hǎo kàn)
Meaning Index
Chinese characters meaning "to look after"
Learn Chinese characters with the meaning "to look after", including 看 (kān / kàn), 管 (guǎn). Study pinyin, English meanings, traditional forms…
How to Study This Meaning Group
The English word "to look after" covers 2 different Chinese characters — 看 (kān / kàn), 管 (guǎn) — and each is its own word with its own feel. These 2 characters do not share a sound — their readings span kān, kàn, guǎn — so confirm the pinyin and tone for each one separately. The example sentences further down show how 看 and the others are actually used, so you learn them in context rather than as a single translation.
- 看 kān / kànto look after; to take care of; to watch; to guard; it depends; thinkUseful words: 看到, 看见
- 管 guǎnto take care (of); to control; to manage; to be in charge of; to look after; to runUseful words: 管理, 不管
Common words for these 2 "to look after" characters
Anchor each of these 2 characters in a word you can picture — start with 看 (kān / kàn) — so "to look after" turns into concrete usage instead of a one-to-one translation.
看到kàn dàoto see看见kàn jiànto see; to catch sight of好看hǎo kàngood-looking; nice-looking; (of a movie, book, TV show etc) good; in an embarrassing situation管理guǎn lǐto supervise; to manage; to administer; management不管bù guǎnnot to be concerned; regardless of; no matter尽管jǐn guǎndespite; although; even though; in spite of
See each character in a sentence
Each character below is shown in a short example sentence with pinyin and an English translation — the quickest way to feel the difference between the 2 ways to say "to look after".
管 guǎn — to take care (of); to control; to manage; to be in charge of; to look after; to run
这件事不归我管。Zhè jiàn shì bù guī wǒ guǎn.This matter is not my responsibility.
Common words: 管理 (guǎn lǐ)、不管 (bù guǎn)、尽管 (jǐn guǎn)
All 2 characters
Open 看、管 or any character below to hear it read aloud and see it used in an example sentence.