Synonyms?

[jadeblomma]

看起来, 看上去, 看来, 好像 Are these four synonyms? If not, what is the difference?

开玩笑, 说笑话 Are these two synonyms, or what is the difference?

[leeyah]

The finesse in meaning between 看起来, 看上去, 看来, 好像 is pretty hard to explain since they can all be translated as it looks, it seems, it appears. IMO the best way to understand how they are used is through context. Basically,

看上去 conveys the meaning of judging (merely) by the look of something (unrelated to previous knowledge/experience):

他看上去很年轻。He looks young for his age.

看上去挺好玩的。 This should be fun.

那看上去很难。That looks hard.

看起来 is used to express judgment of something new, based on what is known so far:

看起来不错. (From what I've known so far) That looks pretty good.

这件看起来更好。 This looks even better.

看来 is used to express one's view/conclusion that something is likely to happen or continue (based on one's previous experience):

看来没问题 There should be no problem.

看来你像是刚跑过步。You look as if you've been running.

今天这雨看来不像要停的样子。 It looks as if the rain isn't going to stop all day.

Some useful phrases:

在我看来。。。 in my opinion ...

在他们看来 。。。to them ...

在常人看来，她/他 。。。 as a person, (s/he) is ...

从X的样子看来 。。。from the look of X ...

好像 also means as though, as if:

一切照常进行，就好像什么也没有发生过似的。 Everything is back to normal, as if nothing ever happened.

Both 看起来 & 看上去 are often used together with 好像:

>>他看起来好像不太舒服。He doesn't look too well. / It looks as if he's not feeling very well.

>>他看上去好像刚起床。He looks as if she had just got out of bed.

开玩笑 means joking, making fun of >>你是不是开玩笑? Are you joking? (or do you really mean it?)

说笑话 means make funny remarks about something/someone

For more context try 句酷

[in_lab]

Is there any difference between these sentences?

他看上去很年轻。

看上去挺好玩的。

那看上去很难。

他看起来很年轻。

看起来挺好玩的。

那看起来很难。

As for 好像, I would guess that 好像 has a more tenative feeling that just 看上去 or 看起来.

Or, is there any difference between these sentences?:

看来没问题

看来你像是刚跑过步。

今天这雨看来不像要停的样子。

看起来好像没问题

看起来好像你像是刚跑过步。

今天这雨看起来好像不像要停的样子。

Again, I would guess the second set of sentences is slightly more tenative.

[leeyah]

Not quite sure if they can be called exact synonyms, perhaps in some contexts.

Zdic says:

看起来 kànqǐlái

(1) [appear]∶显而易见>>统观历史,看起来永远是一个人建功立业,是重大事件的真正创造者

(2) [look]∶看来像是>>她的嘴唇看起来干焦而不自然

看来 kànlái

[it appears;it looks as if] 粗略地判断>>他的脸看来几乎是灰色的

[seemingly] 就所能看到或判定的范围来说>>现在看来事情没有那么糟,你说呢

plus: 看样子 kàn yàngzi [look;appear;seem] 看来;看起来

趋向补语 section in HSK course material says:

看起来/听起来 >>估计或着眼于某一方面 vs. 看上去 >>以外表来估计：看上去他好像懂了，其实并没听懂。 It looks as if he understood, but in fact he didn't.

I'm not sure if there's a difference but IMO 看起来他懂了 means by the look of him, you personally think he got it right, but you're not sure, he may have and he may have not.

Talking of synonyms, compare 看上去 above with 起来 in >>这件衣服穿起来很舒服，是不是? This blouse is very comfortable to wear, don't you think so? (your personal view, others may try it on and disagree)

& all 3in 1, from Jukuu >>我经常奇怪于大人们为什么总是急急忙忙去工作，)这事看起来真是无趣，而且他们看上去也不快活，但好像总有些东西使他们不断地急着去工作

Also, note that in 看起来好像你像是刚跑过步。& 今天这雨看起来好像不像要停的样子。it's either 好像 or 你像/不像, not both.

[tooironic]

Hehe, I remember doing some research on "appears"/"looks like" synonyms a while back. Here's the list I came up with:

* 彷彿, 仿佛 (fǎngfú)

* 看來, 看来 (kànlái)

* 看起來, 看起来 (kànqǐlái)

* 看上去 (kànshàngqù)

* 看似 (kànshì)

* 看樣子, 看样子 (kànyàngzi)

* 貌似 (màosì)

* 若 (ruò)

* 似 (shì)

* 似乎 (sìhū)

* 宛 (wǎn)

* 宛然 (wǎnrán)

* 顯得, 显得 (xiǎnde)

* 象 (xiàng)

* 象是 (xiàngshì)

* 俨然 (yǎnrán)

[source]

Wish I could help you with the disambiguation, but I'd rather leave that to a native speaker. My personal favourite is 貌似 as it has become quite a popular slang word of late. For some reason it evokes awe from Chinese speakers the minute you use it. ?? :o