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How to Say ‘Seems’ in Simplified Chinese

起来

qǐ lái

[qǐ lái]

💬 Usage Tip: [起来] after a verb can mean "seems" or "sounds" based on an impression, not a physical action. So [听起来] means "to sound" in the sense of "it sounds like..." and you can build things like [看起来不错] "looks good."

Phrase Breakdown

起来

qǐ lái

[qǐ lái]

to start; to rise

Indicates the beginning of an action or process.

Example

这听【起来】不错。

This sounds good.

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