看见
kàn jiàn
to see; to catch sight of
look (看) + perceive (见) = to catch sight of
看 shows a hand shading the eyes to look into the distance; 见 shows a person (儿) with an eye (冂 framing 目) — the moment of actually catching sight of something. Together they move from the act of looking to the result of seeing.
我看见一只猫在窗边睡觉。
wǒ kàn jiàn yī zhī māo zài chuāng biān shuì jiào。
I saw a cat sleeping by the window.
你有没有看见我把钥匙放在哪里了？
nǐ yǒu méi yǒu kàn jiàn wǒ bǎ yào shi fàng zài nǎ lǐ le？
Did you happen to see where I put my keys?