Assessing Situations with “kànlái”
看来 / 在……看来
How it works
看来 (kànlái) is used when the speaker makes a judgment based on what they see, know, or understand from the situation. In English, it often means:
it seems
it looks like
judging from the situation
在……看来 (zài...kànlái) means “in someone’s opinion” or “from someone’s point of view.”
So although both use 看来 (kànlái), they are not exactly the same:
看来 (kànlái) = judgment based on the situation
在我看来 (zài wǒ kànlái) = in my opinion
The pattern
Example sentences
看来今天不会下雨。
It seems it will not rain today.
看来他已经知道这件事了。
It seems he already knows about this matter.
在我看来，这个办法不错。
In my opinion, this method is not bad.
Key point
Compare these two:
看来他不想去。 Kànlái tā bù xiǎng qù. It seems he does not want to go. This is the speaker’s judgment from the situation.
在我看来，他不应该去。 Zài wǒ kànlái, tā bù yīnggāi qù. In my opinion, he should not go. This is the speaker’s personal opinion.