Lesson 19: The parenthetical phrase “看样子” and the comparison “像……一样”

Explanation

Structure

1. 1
   看样子+句子

   A parenthetical phrase expressing a guess about the objective situation; used like “看上去”, “看起来” and “看来”.

   • 天阴了，看样子要下雨。

     Tiān yīn le, kàn yàngzi yào xià yǔ.

     The sky has clouded over; it looks like it's going to rain.

   • 已经八点半了，看样子她今天不来了。

     Yǐjīng bā diǎn bàn le, kàn yàngzi tā jīntiān bù lái le.

     It's already half past eight; it looks like she won't come today.

   • A：她是哪国人？ B：看样子像美国人。

     A: Tā shì nǎ guó rén? B: Kàn yàngzi xiàng Měiguó rén.

     A: What country is she from? B: She looks American.

2. 2
   像+A+一样

   Expresses a comparison or points out a similar situation; can function as a predicate, attributive, complement, or adverbial.

   • 我们班的同学像兄弟姐妹一样。

     Wǒmen bān de tóngxué xiàng xiōngdì jiěmèi yíyàng.

     The students in our class are like brothers and sisters.

   • 我想买一个像你这个一样的手机

     Wǒ xiǎng mǎi yí ge xiàng nǐ zhège yíyàng de shǒujī

     I want to buy a phone just like this one of yours.

   • 她很漂亮，长得像她妈妈一样。

     Tā hěn piàoliang, zhǎng de xiàng tā māma yíyàng.

     She is very pretty and looks just like her mother.

   • 那辆车像飞一样地开了过来。

     Nà liàng chē xiàng fēi yíyàng de kāi le guòlái.

     That car came speeding toward us as fast as if it were flying.