Assessing situations with "kanlai"

看来 (kànlái) can be translated as "apparently" or "it seems" and is used by the speaker to introduce his understanding of a situation.

Don't confuse 看来 with 看起来 (kàn qilai), which means "it looks like."

看来 as "it seems"

When speaking objectively about a situation, you can simply say 看来 and then state your perspective.

Structure

看来 + Perspective

Examples

• 看来 他 不 来 了，都 这么 晚 了。Kànlái tā bù lái le, dōu zhème wǎn le.It seems he's not coming. It's already so late.
• 看来 你 玩 得 不 高兴，怎么 这么 早 就 回来 了？Kànlái nǐ wán de bù gāoxìng, zěnme zhème zǎo jiù huílái le?It seems you didn't have a good time. Why did you came back so early?
• 看来 我们 来 晚 了，排 的 队 这么 长。Kànlái wǒmen lái wǎn le, pái de duì zhème cháng.It seems we are late. The line is so long.
• 看来 今年 失业率 会 增加，因为 今年 的 经济 不太 好。Kànlái jīnnián shīyè lǜ huì zēngjiā, yīnwèi jīnnián de jīngjì bù tài hǎo.It seems that the unemployment rate will increase this year because this year's economy is not very good.
• 现在 看来 ，事情 没 那么 糟。Xiànzài kànlái, shìqíng méi nàme zāo.Now it looks like things aren't that bad.

看来 as "from x's perspective"

看来 can also be used to highlight a specific person's point of view. This is like saying "the way he/she sees it..." You can also say 在我看来, which is the longer version of just using 看来. It is used more often that way in formal speaking and writing, as it has more of a feeling like saying, "in my opinion...."

Structure

在 + Person + 看来 + Perspective

Examples

• 在 我 看来 ，不 会 花 钱 的 人 就 不 会 享受 生活。Zài wǒ kànlái, bù huì huā qián de rén jiù bù huì xiǎngshòu shēnghuó.The way I see it, people who won't spend money aren't going to enjoy life.
• 在 他 看来 ，公司 大小 不重要，重要的是老板好不好。Zài tā kànlái, gōngsī dàxiǎo bù zhòngyào, zhòngyào de shì lǎobǎn hǎobù hǎo.According to him, the size of the company isn't important. What's important is whether or not the boss is good.
• 在 老板 看来 ，加班 才 说明 你 工作 积极。Zài lǎobǎn kànlái, jiābān cái shuōmíng nǐ gōngzuò jījí.According to the boss, working overtime means you work vigorously.
• 在 朋友 看来 ，这 件 事 并 没有 这么 严重。Zài péngyou kànlái, zhè jiàn shì bìng méiyǒu zhème yánzhòng.According to friends, this situation isn't very serious at all.
• 在 你 看来 ，这 件 事 要 怎么 解决？Zài nǐ kànlái, zhè jiàn shì yào zěnme jiějué?In you opinion, how could this issue be solved?

See also

• "For…" with "eryan"
• Limiting scope with "jiu"
• Appearance with "kanqilai"
• "It seems" with "haoxiang"

Sources and further reading

Books

• HSK Standard Course 4上 (pp. 121) Anything Goes (无所不谈) →buy
• Integrated Chinese: Level 2, Part 2 (pp. 60) Anything Goes (无所不谈) →buy
• 卓越汉语－公司实战篇 (pp. 211) 卓越汉语－公司实战篇 →buy

Dictionaries

• 现代汉语词典（第5版） (pp.763) →buy

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