看来 - Assessing situations
HSK 4
看来 (kàn lái) is used when the speaker gives their opinion or judgment about a situation. It shows you're making a conclusion based on what you know, saw, or heard.
It’s similar to saying:
“It seems that...”
“Apparently...”
“From what I see...”
“In my opinion...” (especially in the structure 在我看来)
Apparently / It seems that...: This use is general — you’re giving your judgment or interpretation.
看来 + Clause
In someone’s opinion: This version shows who is making the judgment.
在 + person + 看来 + Clause
Sample Sentences
他这么努力，看来是真的想改变。He’s working so hard — it seems he really wants to change.
你没吃饭？看来你很忙吧。You didn’t eat? Looks like you were really busy.
在老师看来，他是个很有潜力的学生。In the teacher’s eyes, he’s a very promising student.
In a Text
今天早上一起床，我就听到外面刮大风。天空灰蒙蒙的，云层很厚，看来今天又是个阴天。出门的时候，我看到很多人穿着厚外套，看来气温又降了不少。
到了公司，大家都在议论昨天开的那个会议。在我看来，那个新项目虽然有风险，但也有很大的潜力。在经理看来，我们的团队还需要更多准备，不能太急着上线。
午休的时候，我点了外卖，但过了一个小时还没送到。看来今天的外卖员特别忙，或者路上出了什么问题。
潜力 (qiánlì): potential
This morning when I got up, I heard strong winds blowing outside. The sky was gray and overcast, and the clouds were thick — looks like it’s another gloomy day. When I went out, I saw a lot of people wearing thick coats — it seems the temperature has dropped quite a bit.
When I got to the office, everyone was talking about the meeting we had yesterday. In my opinion, that new project does carry some risk, but it also has great potential. From the manager’s point of view, our team still needs more preparation and shouldn’t rush to launch.
During the lunch break, I ordered delivery, but after an hour, it still hadn’t arrived. Apparently, the delivery drivers are super busy today, or maybe something happened on the way.
