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 来 了，都 这么 晚 了。Kàn lái tā bù láile, dōu zhème wǎnle.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？Kàn lái nǐ wán dé bù gāoxìng, zěnme zhème zǎo jiù huíláile?I guess you didn't have a good time. Is that why you came back so early?
• 看来 我们 来 晚 了，排的队 这么 长。Kàn lái wǒmen lái wǎnle, pái de duì zhème zhǎng.It seems we are late. The queue is so long.
• 看来 今年 失业率 会 增加，因为 今年 的 经济 不太 好。Kàn lái 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 "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 chóng yào, 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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