見 Kanji: Meaning, Readings and Stroke Order

見: see; look; show; appear. JLPT N5; 7 strokes.

Readings

On readings

ケン

Kun readings

み.る、み.える、み.せる

Romaji

ken, miru, mieru, miseru

Study notes

見 concerns seeing: to look, to be visible and to show; in compounds it also indicates opinion (意見) and appearance (外見).

On readings: ケン in 意見 (いけん, opinion), 見学 (けんがく, study visit), 発見 (はっけん, discovery), 外見 (がいけん, external appearance), 会見 (かいけん, press conference, interview).

Kun readings: みる (見る, to look, to see) is a voluntary action; みえる (見える, to be visible, to be seen) describes what enters the view without effort; みせる (見せる) means 'to show, to display'. み also appears in many nouns: 花見 (はなみ, cherry blossom viewing), 月見 (つきみ, moon viewing), 見本 (みほん, sample), 見方 (みかた, point of view).

Remember: with 見る the object takes を (映画を見る, watching a movie), with 見える what is seen takes が (山が見える, the mountain is seen). The humble form of 見る is 拝見する (はいけんする), the respectful form ご覧になる (ごらんになる).

Example words

• 見物 (けんぶつ) — sightseeing; visit
• 見学 (けんがく) — study visit; guided tour
• 見る (みる) — to see; to watch
• 見える (みえる) — to be visible; can see
• 見せる (みせる) — to show

Example sentences

映画を見ました。

eiga wo mimashita.

I watched a film.

Stroke order

Follow the steps in order. Each new stroke is highlighted.

Stroke paths: KanjiVG, CC BY-SA 3.0. Sequential diagrams derived from the original paths.