似 (sì): to seem, to appear, to resemble, similar, -like, pseudo-
似 (sì) is a Chinese character meaning “to seem.” Classified as HSK Level 5 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 亻 (structural) and 以 (structural). It ranks #431 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 似 one person 亻 resembles another. Its radical form 亻 (person) appears in many related characters such as 人 (rén, person), 什 (shén, what), 今 (jīn, now).
Definitions
- to seem
- to appear
- to resemble
- similar
- -like
- pseudo-
Etymology & Origin
ideographicOne person 亻 resembles another
Decomposition: ⿰亻以 (layout: left-right)
Stroke Order
Practice writing 似 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 似
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | HSK |
|---|---|---|---|
| 似乎adverb | sì hū | it seems | 5 |
| 似的particle | shì de | seems as if | 5 |
| 类似verb | lèi sì | similar | 5 |
| 相似adjective | xiāng sì | similar | 5 |
| 看似verb | kàn sì | to look as if | 6 |
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 貌似 | mào sì | to appear to be |
| 似曾相识 | sì céng xiāng shí | déjà vu (the experience of seeing exactly the same situation a second time) |
| 好似 | hǎo sì | to seem |
| 近似 | jìn sì | to approximate |
| 如饥似渴 | rú jī sì kě | to hunger for sth (idiom) |
| 似是而非 | sì shì ér fēi | apparently right but actually wrong |
| 酷似 | kù sì | to strikingly resemble |
| 柔情似水 | róu qíng sì shuǐ | tender and soft as water |
| 相似性 | xiāng sì xìng | resemblance |
| 如狼似虎 | rú láng sì hǔ | lit. like wolves and tigers |
| 神似 | shén sì | similar in expression and spirit |
| 如花似玉 | rú huā sì yù | delicate as a flower, refined as a precious jade (idiom) |
| 胜似 | shèng sì | to surpass |
| 恰似 | qià sì | just like |
| 形似 | xíng sì | similar in shape and appearance |
似 appears in 48 compound words: 23 as the first character, 40 as the last, and 38 in a middle position. Compound statistics computed from SUBTLEX-CH and HSK 3.0 vocabulary data.
Strongest Collocations
Characters that most frequently co-occur with 似 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (14)
to have one's heart set on returning home; to have an urge to return home
delicate as a flower, refined as a precious jade (idiom); (of a woman) exquisite
delicate as a flower, refined as a precious jade (idiom); (of a woman) exquisite
Showing 12 of 14 idioms containing 似.
Example Sentences
这两幅画看起来很相似,但仔细比较还是有区别的。
Zhè liǎng fú huà kàn qǐlai hěn xiāngsì, dàn zǐxì bǐjiào háishi yǒu qūbié de.
These two paintings look very similar, but careful comparison reveals differences.
赞蒋万安育儿新政 蓝委指“南韩有类似制度”:绿营批评苍白无力
zàn 蒋 wàn ān yù ér xīn zhèng lán wěi zhǐ nán hán yǒu lèi sì zhì dù : lǜ yíng pī píng cāng bái wú lì
Praise Jiang Wan'an's new parenting policy Blue Committee pointed out that "South Korea has a similar system": the green camp criticized it palely
...s 达成授权协议,致力扩大拉丁美洲生物相似药的可及途径
. . . s dá chéng shòu quán xié yì , zhì lì kuò dà lā dīng měi zhōu shēng wù xiāng sì yào de kě jí tú jìng
... Authorized agreement to expand access to biosimilars in Latin America
...生小便后甩一甩是本能行为吗?婴儿期就有类似反射吗
. . . shēng xiǎo biàn hòu shuǎi yī shuǎi shì běn néng háng wéi ma ? yīng ér qī jiù yǒu lèi sì fǎn shè ma
... Is it instinctive to shake it after peeing? Is there a similar reflex in infancy?
...否认做医美疗程 开心被网民指跟阿仪越来越似 黄夏蕙等收遗产开老人院
. . . fǒu rèn zuò yī měi liáo chéng kāi xīn bèi wǎng mín zhǐ gēn ā yí yuè lái yuè sì huáng xià 蕙 děng shōu yí chǎn kāi lǎo rén yuàn
... Denying medical aesthetic treatment, he was happily accused by netizens of becoming more and more similar to Ah Yi, and Huang Xiahui and others received an inheritance to open a nursing home
英国男子打砸香港机场 包中还搜出疑似管制药品
yīng guó nán zǐ dǎ zá xiāng gǎng jī chǎng bāo zhōng hái sōu chū yí shì guǎn zhì yào pǐn
British man vandalizes Hong Kong airport, suspected controlled substances found in his bag.
地球的外形和橙子相似。
Dìqiú de wàixíng hé chéngzi xiāngsì.
The earth is similar to an orange in shape.
交通事故的数量似乎在增长。
Jiāotōng shìgù de shùliàng sìhū zài zēngzhǎng.
The number of traffic accidents seems to be on the increase.
好工作似乎愈来愈难找了。
Hǎo gōngzuò sìhū yùláiyù nán zhǎo le.
It seems to be becoming hard to get a good job.
他似乎对自己的状况不满意。
Tā sìhū duì zìjǐ de zhuàngkuàng bù mǎnyì.
He does not seem pleased with his condition.
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
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Is 似 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 似 with real-time feedback
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