VV看 kàn

Want to say “give it a try” in Chinese? Take a one-syllable verb, say it twice, and add 看 kàn. So 吃 chī becomes 吃吃看 chīchikàn: “have a taste and see.” It’s a friendly, relaxed way to invite someone (or yourself) to try something out.

一 The Basic Pattern

Verb + Verb + 看

Double a one-syllable verb and put 看 kàn at the end. The second verb is said lightly, with a neutral tone. It works with verbs you can “try out,” like eating, listening, playing, or saying something.

我wǒ想xiǎng试试看shìshikàn自己zìjǐ一个人yí ge rén旅游lǚyóu

I want to try traveling alone.

试试看 shìshikàn (“try”) is probably the most common VV看 of all. You’ll often hear it by itself: 试试看! “Give it a try!”

你nǐ有yǒu什么shénme想法xiǎngfǎ都dōu可以kěyǐ说说看shuōshuokàn

Feel free to share any thoughts you have.

那个nàge游戏yóuxì可以kěyǐ借jiè我wǒ玩玩看wánwankàn吗ma？

Can I borrow that game to try it out?

二 Moving the Object to the Front

Normally the object comes right after the verb. With VV看, it usually moves to the front of the sentence as the topic, and VV看 goes at the end.

Object (Topic)，Subject + VV看

这zhè是shì我wǒ做zuò的de蛋糕dàngāo，你nǐ吃吃看chīchikàn

This is the cake I made. Why don’t you give it a try?

这zhè首shǒu歌gē很hěn好听hǎotīng，有yǒu机会jīhuì你nǐ应该yīnggāi听听看tīngtingkàn

This song is really nice. You should give it a listen when you get the chance.

An exceptionLook back at the 试试看 example in Section 1: the thing being tried (traveling alone) comes after 试试看. When the “object” is a whole action like this, it stays in its usual place.

三 The Special Case: 看看 kànkan

看 kàn is the one verb that doesn’t get an extra 看 kàn. 看看 kànkan already means “have a look and see.” Saying 看看看 would be one 看 too many!

你nǐ帮bāng我wǒ看看kànkan我wǒ写xiě的de中文Zhōngwén对不对duì bú duì

Can you check whether my Chinese is correct?

让ràng我wǒ看看kànkan

Let me have a look.

四 Heard in Taiwan: V看看

In Taiwan you might hear V看看 instead of VV看, as in 喝看看 hē kànkan. Grammar books call it incorrect, but lots of people say it, and it means exactly the same thing as VV看.

你nǐ喝hē看看kànkan，我wǒ觉得juéde这个zhège很hěn好喝hǎohē

Give it a try. I think this one tastes really good.

Heard all the time in Taiwan. In class and in writing, stick to 喝喝看 hēhekàn.

五 Common Mistakes

❌ 你nǐ試shì试shì看kàn

✅ 你nǐ試試看shìshikàn试试看shìshikàn

The verb has to be doubled. 試看试看 alone sounds unfinished.

❌ 你nǐ幫bāng帮bāng我wǒ看看看kànkankàn

✅ 你nǐ幫bāng帮bāng我wǒ看看kànkan

With 看 kàn, don’t add another 看 kàn. 看看 kànkan is already complete.

❌ 你nǐ喜歡喜歡看xǐhuān xǐhuān kàn喜欢喜欢看xǐhuan xǐhuan kàn這zhè这zhè首shǒu歌gē

✅ 這zhè这zhè首shǒu歌gē你nǐ聽聽看tīngtingkàn听听看tīngtingkàn

VV看 is for actions you can actually try out. You can’t “try liking” something, but you can try listening to it. Notice the song also moves to the front.

六 Practice

Tap the words below in the right order to build the sentence, then check your answer. If it’s wrong, you can try again as many times as you like, or hit “Show answer” if you get stuck. Careful: some tiles are traps and are not needed!

Question 1 of 10

“This dish is really good. Try it!”