ChineseGrammarWiki/MD/B1/Expressing_itdepends_with_kan_-ChineseGrammarWiki.html.mw

<div id="top_page" class="navbar navbar-static-top accounts noprint">

<div class="navbar-inner">

<div class="container">

<div class="span12">

<div class="row-fluid">

<div class="span3" style="margin-left: -15pt;">

[http://www.allsetlearning.com/ [[File:Expressing%20%22it%20depends%22%20with%20%22kan%22%20-%20Chinese%20Grammar%20Wiki_fichiers/logo-40x195.png]]]

</div>
[[|<span class="icon-bar"></span> <span class="icon-bar"></span> <span class="icon-bar"></span>]]
<div class="nav-collapse account-collapse collapse">

<ul>
<li>[https://store.allsetlearning.com/ Store]</li>
<li>[https://resources.allsetlearning.com/ Resources'''''']
<div class="newbadge">

NEW

</div>
<ul>
<li>[https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/ Chinese Study Resources]
<div class="newbadge">

NEW

</div></li>
<li>[https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar Chinese Grammar Wiki]</li>
<li>[https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/pronunciation Chinese Pronunciation Wiki]</li></ul>
</li></ul>

* [https://resources.allsetlearning.com/gramwiki/?title=Special:UserLogin&returnto=Expressing+%22it+depends%22+with+%22kan%22 '''' Log in]


</div>

</div>

</div>

</div>

</div>

</div>
<div id="page-header" class="container signed-out">

<div class="section span12">




</div>

</div>
<div id="content" class="section mw-body container 0">

<div id="top">



</div>
<div id="mw-js-message" style="display:none;">



</div>
<div id="bodyContent">

<div id="jump-to-nav" class="mw-jump">

Jump to: [[#mw-head|navigation]], [[#p-search|search]]

</div>
<div id="gg-top" class="gg">

[http://amzn.to/2iioVRP [[File:Expressing%20%22it%20depends%22%20with%20%22kan%22%20-%20Chinese%20Grammar%20Wiki_fichiers/CGW-print-250_60.jpg]]]

</div>
<div class="row-fluid wikititle">

[https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Main_Page [[File:Expressing%20%22it%20depends%22%20with%20%22kan%22%20-%20Chinese%20Grammar%20Wiki_fichiers/Wiki-title.png|class=wikititle-spacer]]]

</div>
<div class="row-fluid noprint">

<div class="span2">



</div>
<div id="menu-tabs" class="span10 tabs">

<ul>
<li></li>
<li><div id="ca-view">



</div>
<span>[https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Expressing_%22it_depends%22_with_%22kan%22 View]</span></li>
<li><div id="ca-viewsource">



</div>
<span>[https://resources.allsetlearning.com/gramwiki/?title=Expressing_%22it_depends%22_with_%22kan%22&action=edit View source]</span></li>
<li><div id="ca-history">



</div>
<span>[https://resources.allsetlearning.com/gramwiki/?title=Expressing_%22it_depends%22_with_%22kan%22&action=history History]</span></li>
<li></li></ul>


</div>

</div>
<div class="row-fluid">

<div id="mw-panel" class="span2 noprint">

* [https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Main_Page Main Page]
* [https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Learner_FAQ Learner FAQ]
* [https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Grammar_points_by_level Grammar Points]
* [https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Keywords Chinese Keywords]
* [https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Translations Word Translations]
* [https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Chinese_textbook_grammar_index Textbook Index]
* [https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Forums Chinese Forums]
* [https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Acknowledgments Acknowledgments]
* [https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Contact Contact Us]

[[|]]
<div class="sidebar-caret arrow-down">



</div>
Useful Pages
* [https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Tools Reading Tools]
* [https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Special:RecentChanges Recent changes]
* [https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Special:Random Random page]
* [https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Help:Contents Help]
* [http://resources.allsetlearning.com/ Newsletter]

<ul>
<li>[[|]]
<div class="sidebar-caret arrow-down">



</div>
Tools
<ul>
<li><div id="t-whatlinkshere">



</div>
[https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Special:WhatLinksHere/Expressing_%22it_depends%22_with_%22kan%22 What links here]</li>
<li><div id="t-recentchangeslinked">



</div>
[https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Special:RecentChangesLinked/Expressing_%22it_depends%22_with_%22kan%22 Related changes]</li>
<li><div id="t-specialpages">



</div>
[https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Special:SpecialPages Special pages]</li>
<li><div id="t-print">



</div>
[https://resources.allsetlearning.com/gramwiki/?title=Expressing_%22it_depends%22_with_%22kan%22&printable=yes Printable version]</li>
<li><div id="t-permalink">



</div>
[https://resources.allsetlearning.com/gramwiki/?title=Expressing_%22it_depends%22_with_%22kan%22&oldid=42427 Permanent link]</li>
<li><div id="t-info">



</div>
[https://resources.allsetlearning.com/gramwiki/?title=Expressing_%22it_depends%22_with_%22kan%22&action=info Page information]</li></ul>
</li></ul>

<div id="gg-mid" class="gg">

[http://itunes.apple.com/us/book/id1286538933 [[File:Expressing%20%22it%20depends%22%20with%20%22kan%22%20-%20Chinese%20Grammar%20Wiki_fichiers/CGW-iBooks-150_150.jpg]]]

</div>

</div>
<div class="span10">

<div id="innerbodycontent" class="row nolayout">

<div class="offset1 span10">

<div id="sm-cog-elements" class="noprint">



</div>
<div class="allset-page-heading">

[[#|[[File:Expressing%20%22it%20depends%22%20with%20%22kan%22%20-%20Chinese%20Grammar%20Wiki_fichiers/cog.png]]]]
<div id="settings-menu" class="dropdown dropdown-anchor-right noprint">

<ul>
<li>=== Sample Sentence Options ===
</li>
<li>Spaces</li>
<li> Hide spaces between Chinese words</li>
<li>Pinyin</li>
<li> Hide pinyin</li>
<li>Translations</li>
<li> Hide translations</li></ul>


</div>
= Expressing &quot;it depends&quot; with &quot;kan&quot; =


</div>
<div id="contentSub">



</div>
<div id="mw-content-text" class="mw-content-ltr" dir="ltr" lang="en">

<div id="ibox" class="toc">

<div class="ibox-link">

<span class="plainlinks">[https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/ASG765HD [[File:Expressing%20%22it%20depends%22%20with%20%22kan%22%20-%20Chinese%20Grammar%20Wiki_fichiers/link.png]]]</span>

</div>
<ul>
<li><div class="ibox-label">

Level

</div>
<div class="ibox-info">

[https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/B1_grammar_points B1]

</div></li>
<li><div class="ibox-label">

Similar to

</div>
<div class="ibox-info">



</div></li>
<li><div class="ibox-label">

Used for

</div>
<div class="ibox-info">

[https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Indicating_cause_and_effect Indicating cause and effect], [https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Adding_more_explanation Adding more explanation], [https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Indicating_conditions Indicating conditions]

</div></li>
<li><div class="ibox-label">

Keywords

</div>
<div class="ibox-info">

[https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/%E7%9C%8B 看], [https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/%E8%A6%81%E7%9C%8B 要看], [https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/%E5%BE%97%E7%9C%8B 得看]

</div></li>
<li><div class="ibox-label">

Translations

</div>
<div class="ibox-info">

[https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Depend depend], [https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Depends depends]

</div></li></ul>

<div class="ibox-image">

[https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/File:Chinese-grammar-wiki-kan.jpg [[File:Expressing%20%22it%20depends%22%20with%20%22kan%22%20-%20Chinese%20Grammar%20Wiki_fichiers/300px-Chinese-grammar-wiki-kan.jpg|300x300px|Chinese-grammar-wiki-kan.jpg]]]

</div>

</div>
Although there are a number of ways to express &quot;it depends&quot; in Chinese, the most common ones in informal spoken Chinese involve the verb 看 (kàn). Some common expressions include 要看 (yào kàn) and 得看 (děi kàn). Both mean &quot;(it) depends (on).&quot; Literally, they would translate as &quot;have to look at,&quot; so the logic is not hard to understand. If you're looking for more formal language, consider 取决于 (qǔjué yú), &quot;to be dependent on.&quot;

<div id="toc" class="toc">

<div id="toctitle">

== Contents ==

<span class="toctoggle"> [[[#|hide]]] </span>

</div>
* [[#Basic_Pattern|<span class="tocnumber">1</span> <span class="toctext">Basic Pattern</span>]]
** [[#Structure|<span class="tocnumber">1.1</span> <span class="toctext">Structure</span>]]
** [[#Examples|<span class="tocnumber">1.2</span> <span class="toctext">Examples</span>]]
* [[#Advanced_Pattern|<span class="tocnumber">2</span> <span class="toctext">Advanced Pattern</span>]]
** [[#Structure_2|<span class="tocnumber">2.1</span> <span class="toctext">Structure</span>]]
** [[#Examples_2|<span class="tocnumber">2.2</span> <span class="toctext">Examples</span>]]
* [[#See_also|<span class="tocnumber">3</span> <span class="toctext">See also</span>]]
* [[#Sources_and_further_reading|<span class="tocnumber">4</span> <span class="toctext">Sources and further reading</span>]]
** [[#Books|<span class="tocnumber">4.1</span> <span class="toctext">Books</span>]]


</div>
== <span id="Basic_Pattern" class="mw-headline">Basic Pattern</span> ==

If you're answering a question with &quot;it depends on...&quot; then this is the pattern you want.

=== <span id="Structure" class="mw-headline">Structure</span> ===

<div class="jiegou">

这 / 那 + 要看 / 得看 + [Unclear Situation]


</div>
=== <span id="Examples" class="mw-headline">Examples</span> ===

Keep in mind that the &quot;answers&quot; below are meant to be an answer to some imaginary question that we don't include.

<div class="liju">

* 这 ''得 看'' 你 的 时间 。<span class="pinyin">Zhè ''děi kàn'' nǐ de shíjiān.</span><span class="trans">This depends on when you are available.</span>
* 这 ''得 看'' 天气 怎么样 。<span class="pinyin">Zhè ''děi kàn'' tiānqì zěnmeyàng.</span><span class="trans">It depends on how the weather is.</span>
* 那 ''得 看'' 考试 结果 。<span class="pinyin">Nà ''děi kàn'' kǎoshì jiéguǒ.</span><span class="trans">That depends on whether the result of the test.</span>
* 那 ''要 看'' 他 愿 不 愿意 。<span class="pinyin">Nà ''yào kàn'' tā yuàn bu yuànyì.</span><span class="trans">That depends on whether he feels like it or not.</span>
* 那 ''要 看'' 老板 怎么 想 。<span class="pinyin">Nà ''yào kàn'' lǎobǎn zěnme xiǎng.</span><span class="trans">It depends on what the boss thinks.</span>


</div>
== <span id="Advanced_Pattern" class="mw-headline">Advanced Pattern</span> ==

=== <span id="Structure_2" class="mw-headline">Structure</span> ===

If you're going to write a full sentence explaining what &quot;it&quot; depends on, then you're going to need to lead off with some kind of explanation of the &quot;unknown outcome&quot; of what &quot;it depends&quot; on. So you'll start with the &quot;unknown outcome&quot; in the first part of the sentence (''before'' 要看 / 得看) and then end up with what &quot;it depends on&quot; (''after'' 要看 / 得看).

<div class="jiegou">

[Unknown Outcome] + 要看 / 得看 + [Unclear Situation]


</div>
The &quot;unknown outcome&quot; normally includes some kind of [https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Question_word question word], meaning something like &quot;''whether or not'' x happens&quot; or &quot;''what'' x does,&quot; etc.

=== <span id="Examples_2" class="mw-headline">Examples</span> ===

<div class="liju">

* '''去不去''' ''得 看'' 我 的 心情 。<span class="pinyin">'''Qù bu qù''' ''de kàn'' wǒ de xīnqíng.</span><span class="trans">Whether or not I go depends on my mood.</span>
* '''什么时候''' 去 ''要 看'' 公司 的 安排 。<span class="pinyin">'''Shénme shíhou''' qù ''yào kàn'' gōngsī de ānpái.</span><span class="trans"> Departure time depends on the company's arrangement.</span>
* 学 音乐 '''还是''' 学 画画 ''要 看'' 孩子 的 兴趣 。<span class="pinyin">Xué yīnyuè '''háishì''' xué huàhuà ''yào kàn'' háizi de xìngqù.</span><span class="trans">It depends on your child's interest when it comes to picking between studying music or painting.</span>
* '''能不能''' 留在 中国 ''要 看'' 我 能 不 能 拿到 签证 。<span class="pinyin">'''Néng bu néng''' liú zài Zhōngguó ''yào kàn'' wǒ néng bu néng nádào qiānzhèng.</span><span class="trans">Whether or not I can stay in China depends on whether or not I can get a visa.</span>
* '''谁''' 当 总统 ''得 看'' 大选 的 结果 。<span class="pinyin">'''Shéi''' dāng zǒngtǒng ''děi kàn'' dàxuǎn de jiéguǒ.</span><span class="trans">Who the next president will be depends on the result of the election.</span>


</div>
== <span id="See_also" class="mw-headline">See also</span> ==

== <span id="Sources_and_further_reading" class="mw-headline">Sources and further reading</span> ==

=== <span id="Books" class="mw-headline">Books</span> ===

* [https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Common_Chinese_Patterns_330_(%E6%B1%89%E8%AF%AD%E5%B8%B8%E7%94%A8%E6%A0%BC%E5%BC%8F330%E4%BE%8B) Common Chinese Patterns 330 (汉语常用格式330例)] (pp. 168) [http://amzn.to/2zBMfhl →buy]

<div style="display:none;">




</div>
<br />


<div style="display:none;">



</div>
<div style="display:none;">



</div>
<div style="display:none;">



</div>
<div style="display:none;">



</div>
<div style="display:none;">



</div>
<div style="display:none;">



</div>

</div>
<div id="catlinks" class="catlinks">

<div id="mw-normal-catlinks" class="mw-normal-catlinks">

[https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Special:Categories Category]:
* [https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Category:B1_grammar_points B1 grammar points]


</div>

</div>
<div id="gg-bot" class="gg">

[http://amzn.to/2iioVRP [[File:Expressing%20%22it%20depends%22%20with%20%22kan%22%20-%20Chinese%20Grammar%20Wiki_fichiers/CGW-print-500_120.jpg]]]

</div>

</div>

</div>

</div>

</div>
<div class="printfooter">

Retrieved from &quot;https://resources.allsetlearning.com/gramwiki/?title=Expressing_%22it_depends%22_with_%22kan%22&oldid=42427&quot;

</div>
<div class="visualClear">



</div>

</div>

</div>
<div id="footer" class="footer container custom-footer">

<div class="row-fluid">

<div class="span2">



</div>
<div class="span10">

不允许任何以商业为目的或不注明归属 Chinese Grammar Wiki ©2011-2018 AllSet Learning 的内容引用。关于合法使用此内容的更多信息，请参阅我们的[https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Chinese%20Grammar%20Wiki:Copyrights 知识共享权限条款（Creative Commons license）]。

All content on the Chinese Grammar Wiki ©2011-2018 AllSet Learning, and may not be used for commercial purposes or without attribution. For more information on how to legally use this content, please see our [https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Chinese%20Grammar%20Wiki:Copyrights Creative Commons license] unless otherwise noted.


</div>

</div>

</div>
<div id="footer" class="footer container">

<div class="row">

<ul>
<li><div id="footer-places-privacy">



</div>
[https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Chinese_Grammar_Wiki:Privacy_policy Privacy policy]</li>
<li><div id="footer-places-about">



</div>
[https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Chinese_Grammar_Wiki:About About Chinese Grammar Wiki]</li>
<li><div id="footer-places-disclaimer">



</div>
[https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Chinese_Grammar_Wiki:General_disclaimer Disclaimers]</li>
<li><div id="pt-login">



</div>
[https://resources.allsetlearning.com/gramwiki/?title=Special:UserLogin&returnto=Expressing+%22it+depends%22+with+%22kan%22 Log in]</li></ul>

<ul>
<li><div id="footer-poweredbyico">



</div>
[https://www.mediawiki.org/ [[File:Expressing%20%22it%20depends%22%20with%20%22kan%22%20-%20Chinese%20Grammar%20Wiki_fichiers/poweredby_mediawiki_88x31.png|88x31px|Powered by MediaWiki]]] [http://www.semantic-mediawiki.org/wiki/Semantic_MediaWiki [[File:Expressing%20%22it%20depends%22%20with%20%22kan%22%20-%20Chinese%20Grammar%20Wiki_fichiers/smw_button.png|88x31px|Powered by Semantic MediaWiki]]]</li></ul>


</div>

</div>
<div class="suggestions" style="display: none; font-size: 13px;">

<div class="suggestions-results">



</div>
<div class="suggestions-special">



</div>

</div>