HSK 3 grammar · pattern
看起来
看起来／看上去 — it looks like / seems
Pattern
+ +
( ) can be left out · other words may come before, between and after
How it works
看起来 (or 看上去) means "it looks like", giving a judgment based on how something appears. It can open the comment or follow the subject. 好像 is close but stresses resemblance or a guess rather than appearance.
Examples
他看起来很累。
Tā kànqǐlái hěn lèi.
He looks very tired.
天看起来要下雨了。
Tiān kànqǐlái yào xià yǔ le.
It looks like it's going to rain.
这个菜看上去很好吃。
Zhège cài kàn shàngqù hěn hǎochī.
This dish looks delicious.
Related
See it in a story
In the app, 看起来 is underlined wherever it appears in the stories you read, and practised with sentences from them. Free.