<p>In this case, I think 我去广州看朋友 is the suitable translation for "I go to Guangzhou to see a friend"? 我去广州看朋友 usually means you want to see your friend there to see how everything is going with him.</p>

<p>Well, 我去广州见朋友 sounds that you want to meet a friend in Guangzhou, usually for some purposes(like business, talking about something, etc.)</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-05-09T03:05:57.830Z
2018-05-09T03:05:57.830Z
dan
<p>Honestly, I don't think English speaker will say "I go to some places to see a friend", even it is grammatically correct. Normally one will use : "I go to Guangzhou to visit/meet a friend". </p>

<p>Then you can learn how Chinese say the same thing interchangeably :</p>

<ul>
<li>找朋友, 觅朋友， 觅友</li>
<li>探朋友，探望朋友</li>
<li>揾朋友， 睇朋友（Cantonese)</li>
<li>见朋友, 会见朋友， 会见友人， 看朋友</li>
</ul>

<p>However, the later example of "looking/searching for somebody name", it is not correct to use [看/见] . The correct terms are </p>

<ul>
<li>找名字</li>
<li>寻找名字</li>
<li>搜索名字</li>
</ul>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-05-09T09:11:17.333Z
It's very common in English to use "see" like this, for example my coworker asked me this morning what I did last weekend and I answered "I went back home and saw my family".
Angus Macrae
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-05-09T07:15:13.380Z
2018-05-09T07:27:07.693Z
2018-05-09T07:27:07.693Z
mootmoot
<p>In class, the teacher asked us to say:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>I go to Guangzhou to see a friend</p>
</blockquote>

<p>in Chinese.  I thought we should say:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>我去广州<a href="http://dict.cn/%E8%A7%81" rel="nofollow noreferrer">见</a>朋友<br>
  <sub>Wǒ qù Guǎngzhōu jiàn péngyǒu</sub></p>
</blockquote>

<p>but the (substitute) teacher proposed：</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>我去广州<a href="http://dict.cn/%E7%9C%8B" rel="nofollow noreferrer">看</a>朋友<br>
  <sub>Wǒ qù Guǎngzhōu kàn péngyǒu</sub></p>
</blockquote>

<p>I think 见 is more appropriate since it means "to see" in the sense of "to meet", whereas 看 means "to look at", e.g., 看花 (kànhuā) = to look at flowers.</p>

<p>I was corrected on this in the past: I went to an office and said 我想看[她的名字], and I was told that's weird to say, that it sounds like she's a celebrity, and I should say 我想见[她的名字].</p>

<p>However, in addition to the teacher's sentence, the top answer to <a href="https://chinese.stackexchange.com/q/8511/8099">When to use 看 and 见？</a> says 见 is inappropriate (<em>you probably will not use 见 as a verb</em>), although it also says it is appropriate (<em>见 can be used as a verb when it means to see/meet someone</em>), so now I'm totally confused, and unsure which is best for this particular context.</p>

<p><strong>Question</strong>: Is 我去广州见朋友 or 我去广州看朋友 better for saying "I go to Guangzhou to see a friend"?</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-05-09T02:51:28.323Z
看 shows more emotions, like you care about him or her (similar to 看望), while 见 is neutral.
Jason Swift
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-05-09T04:06:10.833Z
That answer confused itself, so don't be confused with that one. Lol, for sure, 见 can be used as a verb.
dan
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-05-09T06:02:37.703Z
more possibilities; (search dictionaries): 看望朋友、会（会）朋友、见到朋友、
user6065
<word-choice>
Is 我去广州见朋友 or 我去广州看朋友 better for saying "I go to Guangzhou to see a friend"?
# Is 我去广州见朋友 or 我去广州看朋友 better for saying "I go to Guangzhou to see a friend"?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2018-05-09)

In class, the teacher asked us to say:

> I go to Guangzhou to see a friend

in Chinese. I thought we should say:

> 我去广州[见](http://dict.cn/%E8%A7%81)朋友  
> Wǒ qù Guǎngzhōu jiàn péngyǒu

but the (substitute) teacher proposed：

> 我去广州[看](http://dict.cn/%E7%9C%8B)朋友  
> Wǒ qù Guǎngzhōu kàn péngyǒu

I think 见 is more appropriate since it means "to see" in the sense of "to meet", whereas 看 means "to look at", e.g., 看花 (kànhuā) = to look at flowers.

I was corrected on this in the past: I went to an office and said 我想看[她的名字], and I was told that's weird to say, that it sounds like she's a celebrity, and I should say 我想见[她的名字].

However, in addition to the teacher's sentence, the top answer to [When to use 看 and 见？](https://chinese.stackexchange.com/q/8511/8099) says 见 is inappropriate (*you probably will not use 见 as a verb*), although it also says it is appropriate (*见 can be used as a verb when it means to see/meet someone*), so now I'm totally confused, and unsure which is best for this particular context.

**Question**: Is 我去广州见朋友 or 我去广州看朋友 better for saying "I go to Guangzhou to see a friend"?

**Tags:** word-choice

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: 看 shows more emotions, like you care about him or her (similar to 看望), while 见 is neutral.  
> **username_2**: That answer confused itself, so don't be confused with that one. Lol, for sure, 见 can be used as a verb.  
> **username_3**: more possibilities; (search dictionaries): 看望朋友、会（会）朋友、见到朋友、  

---

## 2 answers

### Answer by username_2 on 2018-05-09. Score: 1 | Accepted answer

In this case, I think 我去广州看朋友 is the suitable translation for "I go to Guangzhou to see a friend"? 我去广州看朋友 usually means you want to see your friend there to see how everything is going with him.

Well, 我去广州见朋友 sounds that you want to meet a friend in Guangzhou, usually for some purposes(like business, talking about something, etc.)


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### Answer by username_4 on 2018-05-09. Score: 0

Honestly, I don't think English speaker will say "I go to some places to see a friend", even it is grammatically correct. Normally one will use : "I go to Guangzhou to visit/meet a friend".

Then you can learn how Chinese say the same thing interchangeably :

* 找朋友, 觅朋友， 觅友
* 探朋友，探望朋友
* 揾朋友， 睇朋友（Cantonese)
* 见朋友, 会见朋友， 会见友人， 看朋友

However, the later example of "looking/searching for somebody name", it is not correct to use [看/见] . The correct terms are

* 找名字
* 寻找名字
* 搜索名字

> **Comments:**
> **username_5**: It's very common in English to use "see" like this, for example my coworker asked me this morning what I did last weekend and I answered "I went back home and saw my family".  

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