看来……

kànlái...

it seems / from this it looks like... (看来……)

看来 means “it seems” based on current evidence. It links what you observe with a likely conclusion.

Anchor example

天越来越黑，看来快要下雨了。

Tiān yuè lái yuè hēi, kànlái kuài yào xià yǔ le.

The sky is getting darker; it looks like it is going to rain soon.

HSK 4

1 structures

15 exercises

Lesson summary

Read the sample sentence and notice how 看来…… guides the meaning: 看来，A.

Explanation

看来 is used when the speaker reaches a conclusion from visible signs, new information, or the current situation. It often follows an observation and introduces the speaker’s inference. Do not use it for information heard from others; use 据说 for hearsay. Compared with 似乎, 看来 often feels more connected to a specific piece of evidence the speaker has just noticed.

Structure Patterns

1 structures

Grammar pattern

看来，A

draws an inference from what the speaker can see or knows now

天越来越黑，看来快要下雨了。

Tiān yuè lái yuè hēi, kànlái kuài yào xià yǔ le.

The sky is getting darker; it looks like it is going to rain soon.

Common Mistakes

Using 看来 for hearsay: 看来，别人说这家店很好。For hearsay, use 据说: 据说，这家店很好。
Using 看来 without any basis in context.Give an observation first or make sure the context provides evidence: 天越来越黑，看来快要下雨了。

Usage Notes

Common pattern: observation + 看来 + likely conclusion.
看来 is about the speaker’s inference, not an outside report.
It is very natural in daily conversation.

Practice

15 exercises

1 / 15

Fill in the blank:

天越来越黑，____快要下雨了。

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