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好似 (hǎo sì) — to seem; to be like; as if

Definition

Literary or written 'to seem, as if' — more formal than the spoken 显得, and notes only an apparent resemblance, unlike 酷似 which stresses a strong real likeness.

verb
to seemto be likeas if

Examples

  • 好似。
    Wài miàn hǎo sì zài xià yǔ.
    It seems to be raining outside.
  • 好似。
    Tā hǎo sì wán quán bù zhī dào zhè jiàn shì.
    He seems completely unaware of this matter.
  • 好似。
    Zhè shēng yīn hǎo sì cóng hěn yuǎn de dì fāng chuán lái.
    This sound seems to come from a very distant place.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

好hǎojust
似sìresemble

好 (just) and 似 (resemble) mean seem like.

Characters in this word

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

好 joins 女 (woman) and 子 (child), understood as a woman with a child, linked to goodness or affection.

Open 好 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
亻Written in full as人rénhuman
Sound part声符shēngfú
以
以yǐ似sì
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

似 pairs 亻 (human) with 以, which gives the sound.

Open 似 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Comparison & Degree

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.