How to Say “You look pretty” in Chinese

The usage of “verb +起来 (qǐlái)”

One of the most common ways to express “it looks like” is to use 看起来 (kànqǐlái). 看起来 is used when you make a guess by feeling but not necessarily really physically seeing. The structure as follows:

[box type=”note_box” style=”” class=””]Subject + 看起来 + Adjective [/box]

Example:

他看起来很紧张。( Tā kàn qǐlái hěn jǐnzhāng, He looks nervous.)
The subject can be omitted, in which case 看起来 can be followed with a whole statement.

看起来今天要下雨。（Kàn qǐlái jīntiān yào xià yǔ, It seems to rain today.）

Verb + 起来【qǐlái】can also be used when talking about your feeling about something that you listen to, feel, etc.,

Such as 听起来【tīng qǐlai=sounds, sounds like】， 闻起来【wén qǐlái=smell】, 吃起来【chī qǐlái=taste】, 坐起来【zuò qǐlai=sit on】 etc.

Examples:

他的发音听起来很标准。(Tā de fǎ yīn tīng qǐlái hěn biāozhǔn ，His pronunciation sounds really standard. )

这瓶香水闻起来不错。( Zhè píng xiāngshuǐ wén qǐlái bùcuò，This bottle of perfumes smells pretty good.)

这个橘子吃起来很酸。( Zhège júzi chī qǐlái hěn suān.This tangerine tastes so sour.)

那个沙发坐起来很舒服。（Nàgè shāfā zuò qǐlái hěn shūfú，That sofa is very comfortable to sit on.）

Verb + 起来【qǐlái, can also means ‘up’ or quite close means “begin” 】. Such as 站起来【zhàn qǐlái=stand up】, 坐起来【zuò qǐlai=sit up】, 笑起来【xiào qǐlái=begin to laugh】, etc.

Examples:

我们一起站起来。( Wǒmen yīqǐ zhàn qǐlái ,We stand up together.)

他突然坐起来了。(Tā túrán zuò qǐláile ，He sat up suddenly (from lying position).)

她一说，我们就笑起来了。（Tā yī shuō, wǒmen jiù xiào qǐláile ，Each time she speaks, we laugh.）