看看

Chinese

		to see; to look at; to look after to see; to look at; to look after; to take care of; to watch; to guard; it depends; think	to see; to look at; to look after to see; to look at; to look after; to take care of; to watch; to guard; it depends; think
simp. and trad. (看看)		看	看

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): kànkàn

  (Zhuyin): ㄎㄢˋ ㄎㄢˋ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): hon³ hon³
• Hakka (Sixian, PFS): khon-khon
• Southern Min (Hokkien, POJ): khòaⁿ-khòaⁿ

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• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: kànkàn → kànkan (toneless final syllable variant)
    • Zhuyin: ㄎㄢˋ ㄎㄢˋ → ㄎㄢˋ ˙ㄎㄢ (toneless final syllable variant)
    • Tongyong Pinyin: kànkån
    • Wade–Giles: kʻan⁴-kʻan⁵
    • Yale: kàn-kan
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: kann.kann
    • Palladius: канькань (kanʹkanʹ)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /kʰän⁵¹⁻⁵³ kʰän⁵¹/ → /kʰän⁵¹ kʰän¹/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • Jyutping: hon³ hon³
    • Yale: hon hon
    • Cantonese Pinyin: hon³ hon³
    • Guangdong Romanization: hon³ hon³
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /hɔːn³³ hɔːn³³/
• Hakka
  • (Sixian, incl. Miaoli and Neipu)
    • Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: khon-khon
    • Hakka Romanization System: kon kon
    • Hagfa Pinyim: kon⁴ kon⁴
    • Sinological IPA: /kʰon⁵⁵ kʰon⁵⁵/
• Southern Min
  • (Hokkien)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: khòaⁿ-khòaⁿ
    • Tâi-lô: khuànn-khuànn
    • Phofsit Daibuun: qvoarqvoax
    • IPA (Xiamen): /kʰuã²¹⁻⁵³ kʰuã²¹/
    • IPA (Quanzhou): /kʰuã⁴¹⁻⁵⁵⁴ kʰuã⁴¹/
    • IPA (Zhangzhou): /kʰuã²¹⁻⁵³ kʰuã²¹/
    • IPA (Taipei): /kʰuã¹¹⁻⁵³ kʰuã¹¹/
    • IPA (Kaohsiung): /kʰuã²¹⁻⁴¹ kʰuã²¹/

Verb

看看

1. to glance at; to take a quick look at; to have a look-see; to thumb through (a book, etc.)

   走走，看看，聊聊，又何嘗不是學習呢？ [MSC, trad.]
   走走，看看，聊聊，又何尝不是学习呢？ [MSC, simp.]

   Zǒuzǒu, kànkàn, liáoliáo, yòu hécháng bùshì xuéxí ne? [Pinyin]

   Wandering, watching, chin-wagging — aren't they ways of learning?

   這是我特意從法國給你們帶回來的一些資料，你們好好看看。 [MSC, trad.]
   这是我特意从法国给你们带回来的一些资料，你们好好看看。 [MSC, simp.]

   Zhè shì wǒ tèyì cóng Fǎguó gěi nǐmen dài huílái de yīxiē zīliào, nǐmen hǎohǎo kànkàn. [Pinyin]

   These are some materials that I brought back for you from France. Please take a look.

2. to examine and survey; to see

   我想看看真正的中國到底是個什麼樣子。 [MSC, trad.]
   我想看看真正的中国到底是个什么样子。 [MSC, simp.]

   Wǒ xiǎng kànkàn zhēnzhèng de Zhōngguó dàodǐ shì ge shénme yàngzi. [Pinyin]

   I want to see what the real China is like.

3. to visit; to call on
4. to see the sights

Adverb

看看

1. placed at the end of a sentence to indicate a suggestion, interchangeable with 看一下.

   打電話給他看看。 [MSC, trad.]
   打电话给他看看。 [MSC, simp.]

   Dǎ diànhuà gěi tā kànkàn. [Pinyin]

   Try calling him.

2. (literary) gradually

   Synonyms: 漸漸 / 渐渐 (jiànjiàn), 堪堪

3. (colloquial) pretty soon

Usage notes

If the verb is a reduplicated monosyllabic verb, 看 is used instead: e.g., 試試看, 嘗嘗看.