Meaning of 看得起
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- to show respect for
- to think highly of
How to use 看得起
看得起 means to respect someone or take them seriously. It is very common in the negative form 看不起 (kànbuqǐ), meaning to look down on someone. Example: 谢谢你看得起我。(Xièxie nǐ kàndeqǐ wǒ.) Thank you for thinking highly of me.
看 (kàn) means to look, and 起 (qǐ) means to rise up. If you can look up at someone, 看得起 (kàndeqǐ), you see them as worth respecting.
Common mistake: Learners often write 的 (de) instead of 得 (de) in the middle. The potential complement here must be 得, so 看的起 is wrong. Also keep the 得 in the neutral tone, not dé.
Stroke order for each character
Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.
看 kàn · to see · 9 strokes
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得 dé · to obtain · 11 strokes
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起 qǐ · to rise · 10 strokes
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Related words
Words that share a character with 看得起.
| 觉得 | juéde | to think that ...; to feel that ...; to feel (uncomfortable etc) |
| 一起 | yīqǐ | (in) the same place; together; in company (with) |
| 看到 | kàndào | to see |
| 起来 | qǐlái | to stand up; to get up; also pr. [qi3lai2] |
| 对不起 | duìbuqǐ | I'm sorry; excuse me; I beg your pardon; to let (sb) down; to disappoint |
| 得到 | dédào | to get; to obtain; to receive |
| 记得 | jìde | to remember |
| 看见 | kànjiàn | to see; to catch sight of |
| 好看 | hǎokàn | good-looking; nice-looking; (of a movie, book, TV show etc) good |
| 起床 | qǐchuáng | to get out of bed; to get up |
| 看病 | kànbìng | to visit a doctor; to see a patient |
| 想起 | xiǎngqǐ | to recall; to think of |
Questions about 看得起
What does 看得起 mean?
看得起 (kàndeqǐ) means "to show respect for; to think highly of" and is used as a verb.
How do you write 看得起?
看得起 is made of 3 characters: 看 (9 strokes), 得 (11 strokes), 起 (10 strokes). That is 30 strokes in total.
Is 看得起 an HSK word?
Yes. 看得起 is on the HSK 6 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
What is the difference between 看得起 and 看不起?
They are opposites built on the same pattern. 看得起 means to respect someone, and 看不起 means to look down on or despise someone. 看不起 is actually used more often in daily speech.
Can 看得起 mean being able to afford to watch something?
In some contexts it can literally mean you can afford to see something, like a show. For example, 这么贵的电影我看得起吗? (Zhème guì de diànyǐng wǒ kàndeqǐ ma?) Can I afford such an expensive movie? Most of the time, though, it means to respect someone.