似乎

[Zhende ma?]

I'm trying to get a handle on exactly how the words 似乎 are used. Are they usually written, spoken, or both. Are they used to say something "seems like" something else e.g.

他似乎奇怪

He seems strange

Also, how would you say something like: she is stronger than she seems (or maybe it should be she is stronger than she appears)

[Guest IVYtony]

似乎 means appears/seems

here, in your sentence, she is stronger than she appears.

this "appears" can be interpreted as 似乎

似乎 is more commonly used in written Chinese, however, it's usually used in daily conversation, too, to express something that you are uncertain. (synonymous: possibly, probably)

[Zhende ma?]

So would the sentence be like:

她比她似乎强壮多？

[xiaocai]

“她似乎比她强壮得多”

“似乎” can not be used separately, it usually followed by an adverb in order to qualify an adjective,like this 这件事似乎有些奇怪 or 这件事似乎很顺利.

[HashiriKata]

The easiest way to remember 似乎 is to use it in the same way as 好像:

他似乎没听懂我的话。

他似乎没有看过那本书。

Cheers,

[xiaocai]

I don't think so.

You can say:她长得好象她妈妈

But you can never say:她长得似乎她妈妈.

[HashiriKata]

I think you may be wrong there, xiaocai.

My suggestion is 好像, a set phrase, meaning "seems, as if";

Your example is 好 + 象, a combination of 2 separate words, meaning "very much alike ", which is very different to mine.

(Also, my 像 is not your 象. They are 2 different characters, aren't they? or is it your mistake, again? )

PS: Even if you can find exceptions (with should be normally expected), that doesn't really negate the practical tip I gave.

[xiaocai]

Oh, "好象" is an nonstandard form and should be "好像" according to 《现代汉语词典》, they have the same meaning and usage,at least in mainland. It's my fault to use the awful 智能ABC input method and haven't checked it.

So, "in the same way" may be considerable if there is any difference.

[HashiriKata]

But even if we ignore the "spelling difference", can't you see the difference in meaning and usage of the two 好像 in the following 2 examples?

他好像没听懂我的话。

她张得好象她妈妈

Do take it easy and think about it!

[xiaocai]

Yes, the usage is diffrent, but those two "haoxiang" are the same.

Now "好象" is considered as a simplified form of "好像" then had been abolished in 1986. The standardization was proofed difficult, many people still use "好象" and haven't realized their mistake, just like me. Even if someone writes both "haoxiang", he must have mixed them up and can not tell the distinction, there is no distinction.

Therefore, you can never find "好象" in 《现代汉语词典》 and 《中学语文》 after 1996.

[HashiriKata]

You still don't seem to get what I'm saying. I realised your mistake in the spelling but that is not the issue. The issue is you mistook the 2 separate meanings of 好像 (and then claiming that I was wrong! )

他好像没听懂我的话 (= 他似乎没听懂我的话 )

她张得好像她妈妈 (= 她张得很像她妈妈)

Is it clearer now? I hope.

[xiaocai]

So 似乎 can not be used as the same way of 好像, right?[/i]

[xiaocai]

好像 in both examples are the same! The two are ONE WORD, not combination.[/i]

[HashiriKata]

You've got a PM!

(PM= Private Mail)

[HashiriKata]

Just in case other people feel left out, here is an update/summary of my "private conversation" with xiaocai:

似乎 means "it seems/ as if/ seemingly" and 好像 can also be used in this meaning (idiomatic meaning):

他似乎/好像没听懂我的话

他似乎/好像有点儿不高兴

Like many other words, 好像 also has other meanings, such as: "is very like/ is very similar to" (literal meaning, in which 好 is an adverb modifying the verb 像):

她长得好像她妈妈

今天真暖和，好像春天

From the original question, Zhendema's however clearly concerned with the meaning "it seems/ as if/ seemingly", and in this idiomatic meaning, 似乎 and 好像 are clearly interchangeable. When the other, literal sense of 好像 is used, 好像 is obviously no longer a synomym of 似乎.

For example, when people say "读" （as in "我读，你听") means "read", you can't say they are wrong in saying "读" means "read", simply because "read" has also other meanings, such as 看, 念, 识，etc. I think this essentially is what's happened in the above episode.

[nipponman]

Sorry, I only read hashirikatas quote, so I guess he just made a typo.

[Quest]

Also, how would you say something like: she is stronger than she seems (or maybe it should be she is stronger than she appears)

Both

她比她似乎强壮多

“她似乎比她强壮得多”

are incorrect to express "she's stronger than she seems".

The correct way to say it is: 她似乎比她看上去要强。

[xiaocai]

Sorry, another typo. New Year made me crazy.

[anonymoose]

Both

她比她似乎强壮多

“她似乎比她强壮得多”

are incorrect to express "she's stronger than she seems".

The correct way to say it is: 她似乎比她看上去要强。

Doesn't 她似乎比她看上去要强 mean "she seems to be stronger than she looks"?

[HashiriKata]

[1] 似乎 means "it seems/ as if/ seemingly" and 好像 can also be used in this meaning (idiomatic meaning):

他似乎/好像没听懂我的话

他似乎/好像有点儿不高兴

[2] Like many other words' date=' 好像 also has other meanings, such as: "is very like/ is very similar to" (literal meaning, in which 好 is an adverb modifying the verb 像):

她长得好像她妈妈

今天真暖和，好像春天[/quote']

One good way for separating the 2 senses of 好像:

1. If you omit 好像 from the sentence and the sentence is still intact grammatically, then 好像 is used in the 1st (idiomatic) sense.

他似乎/好像没听懂我的话 => 他听懂我的话

他似乎/好像有点儿不高兴 => 他有点儿不高兴

2. If you omit 好像 from the sentence and the sentence collapses grammatically, then 好像 is used in the 2nd (literal) sense.

她长得好像她妈妈 => 她长得她妈妈

今天真暖和，好像春天 => 今天真暖和，春天

I hope this will help those who are not convinced that these are indeed 2 separate meanings.

Happy New Year to all!

HK