再見

Chinese phrasebook

This entry is part of the phrasebook project, which presents criteria for inclusion based on utility, simplicity and commonness.

再見

1. (polite) goodbye; see you later

   • goodbye my love　我的愛人再見　goodbye my love　相見不知哪一天 [Taiwanese Mandarin, trad.]
     goodbye my love　我的爱人再见　goodbye my love　相见不知哪一天 [Taiwanese Mandarin, simp.]

     From: 1975, performed by Teresa Teng, lyrics by Wen Choi, music by Masaaki Hirao, “Goodbye! my love”

     goodbye my love, wǒ dì àirén zàijiàn, goodbye my love, xiàngjiàn bùzhī nǎ yītiān-

     . I don't know where we'll meet someday.

• → Japanese: 再見 (tsaichen), 再見 (saichen), 再見 (zaichen)

再見

1. (literally) to see (a person) again; to meet again

   一年後我們再見！ [MSC, trad.]
   一年后我们再见！ [MSC, simp.]

   Yī nián hòu wǒmen zàijiàn!

   We will meet again after one year!

• 再會／再会 (zàihuì)

• “Entry #51631”, in 教育部臺灣台語常用詞辭典 [Dictionary of Frequently-Used Taiwanese Taigi] (overall work in Mandarin and Hokkien), Ministry of Education, R.O.C., 2024.

From Middle Chinese 再見 (MC tsojH kenH).

• (Tokyo) さいけん (Heiban – )^[1]
• IPA^(key):

再(さい)見(けん) • (saiken) 

1. looking at again, watching again, seeing again
   • c. 759, Man’yōshū:
     (book 5, foreword to poems 794-799)

     ...泉門一掩、無由再見、嗚呼哀哉...

     (please add an English translation of this usage example)

再(さい)見(けん)する • (saiken suru) suru (stem 再(さい)見(けん)し (saiken shi), past 再(さい)見(けん)した (saiken shita))

1. to look again; to watch again

   日(に)本(ほん)撮(さつ)影(えい)を再(さい)見(けん)しよう！ ― Nihon satsuei o saiken shiyō! ― Let's have another look at the Japanese cinematography!

From modern Mandarin 再見／再见 (zàijiàn).

• (Tokyo) ツァイチェン (Atamadaka – )^[1]
• IPA^(key):

• (Tokyo) サイチェン (Atamadaka – )
• IPA^(key):

• (Tokyo) ザイチェン (Atamadaka – )
• IPA^(key):

再見(ツァイチェン) or 再見(サイチェン) or 再見(ザイチェン) • (tsaichen or saichen or zaichen) 

1. (informal, rare, in a Chinese context) goodbye, see you later

• Usually written in katakana to avoid ambiguity.