有如 (yǒu rú) — to be like, to seem like

Definition

Written/literary phrase meaning 'is like, seems like' — used for similes in essays or poetry rather than daily speech. Compare with 好像 (HSK 3), which is the casual spoken equivalent.

verb

to be liketo seem like

Examples

有如。
Tā de xiào róng yǒu rú yáng guāng bān wēn nuǎn.
His smile is like the sunshine, warm.
有如，。
Shí jiān yǒu rú liú shuǐ, wú fǎ dào liú.
Time is like flowing water, it cannot flow back.
有如，。
Rén shēng yǒu rú yì chǎng mèng, duǎn zàn ér měi hǎo.
Life is like a dream, short and beautiful.

Origin

Characters in this word

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

肉肉ròumeat

Sound part声符shēngfú

又

又yòu有yǒu

Same sound today

The form 有 combines 又, used for its sound, with a shape from 肉, 'meat'; the hand-holding-meat story is a folk explanation, not shown in the oldest shape.

Open 有 →

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

女口如

Meaning part形符xíngfú

口口kǒumouth

Sound part声符shēngfú

女

女nǚ如rú

Same sound today

如 is built from 口 (mouth) for its meaning and 女 (woman) for its sound.

Open 如 →

Appears in