How to use 看来
看来 + Judgment to the Situation；在 + Person + 看来
看来 introduces a conclusion the speaker draws from available evidence. The evidence may be visible, but it can also be a broader situation or a set of facts. The clause after 看来 states the resulting assessment. It often translates as apparently or it seems, leaving room for the conclusion to be revised if new information emerges.
在…看来 identifies the person whose perspective is being reported. Place the person between 在 and 看来, then state the judgment. This does not guarantee that the judgment is objective or correct. Distinguish these uses from 看起来, which commonly focuses on an impression of appearance, though the meanings can overlap in some situations.
Examples with pinyin and English
看来他不来了，都这么晚了。
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？
It seems you didn't have a good time. Why did you come back so early?
看来我们来晚了，排的队这么长。
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。
It seems that the unemployment rate will increase this year because this year's economy is not very good.
What to remember
- 看来 can introduce a situational inference.
- 在…看来 names the holder of a view.
- The conclusion remains an assessment, not proof.
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Source and editorial notes
Explanation rewritten for Laowai. Examples are adapted from the Laowai English grammar curriculum, with editorial corrections where needed. The original curriculum credits AllSet Learning’s Chinese Grammar Wiki as used with permission. Read the retained source credits.
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