# 看起来



## Kirimaru

大 家 好！

I am wondering whether I have put 看 起 来 in the right position not. Please have a look at my sentence;

你 们 所 做 的 是 小事, 但* 看 起 来 *它 将 为 我 们 学 校 带 来 长 远 的 影 响。
 


谢 谢 你们 !


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## avlee

Correct, keep on going like this


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## Yasin

I am confused, though there is no structural error .
According to your meaning, I can understand it like this: Although they have done such mintute things, the future effect are immense.

So，why not put a more definite ｗｏｒｄ，　ｌｉｋｅ　毫无疑问，肯定　．．．


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## aaron792

I agree with alvee, not Yasin.
The sentence is correct and good.
I will interprete this sentence as
Although they have done such mintute things, it looks like such minute things will have long-term influence on our school.


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## moonflowersong

aaron792 said:


> I will interprete this sentence as
> Although they have done such mintute things, it looks like such minute things will have long-term influence on our school.


 
Agreed


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## xiaolijie

"Although *they* have done such mintute things,..."
In the original Chinese it is *You* and not *they*.
"你 们 所 做 的 是 小事..."

This make me wonder if it's ok in Chinese to phrase things that way. In English, I don't think it's polite to say "Although what you've done is insignificant,...", I would therefore expect the phrase *看 起** 来* to be with it:
"你 们 所 做 的 *看 起 来*是 小事..."
"Although what you've done *appears* insignificant,..."

So, personally I would move the phrase *看 起** 来* in the sentence forward to the first clause:
你 们 所 做 的 *看 起 来*是 小事, 但* *它 将 为 我 们 学 校 带 来 长 远 的 影 响。


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## Zulis

xiaolijie said:


> So, personally I would move the phrase *看 起** 来* in the sentence forward to the first clause:
> 你 们 所 做 的 *看 起 来*是 小事, 但* *它 将 为 我 们 学 校 带 来 长 远 的 影 响。



That would be a different story no?



> 你 们 所 做 的 是 小事, 但 *看 起 来* 它 将 为 我 们 学 校 带 来 长 远 的 影 响。


To me here it means they did LITTLE (and indeed little), but it SEEMS every little bit helps. Emphasising the uncertainty of future impacts.


> 你 们 所 做 的* 看 起 来*是 小事, 但 它 将 为 我 们 学 校 带 来 长 远 的 影 响。


Now here it is emphasising the little thing the people did (the help seems small but in terms of impact its not that small), and also Certain about the future impact.


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## Kirimaru

Thank you all very much for your kind help.

You have two different viewpoints about my original sentence, and interestingly, these two options of where to put 看 起 来 are what I thought about  before and have made me confused 

Any more ideas about this would be very nice to me.


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## moonflowersong

Or you could simpy say:

*虽然*你们所做的是小事，但看起来它将为我们学校带来长远的影响。

Which would translate as:

*Even though* you have done such mintute things, it looks like they will have a long-term infuence on our school.

That way, it would put an emphasis on a positive future impact.


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## jedediah

Better to know what IS what they have done because something insignificant is not going to have enduring influences on anything, by definition.
Or you wanted to say that what they had done was a snap to them but seemingly a big deal to the school?


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## Kirimaru

It is a sentence I found in an exercise book. I really do not know what the thing mentioned is ,jedediah 

To be honest, both ways of putting  看 起 来 ( "你 们 所 做 的 *看 起 来* 是 小事......." as  xiaolijie mentioned and                               "你 们 所 做 的 是 小事, 但 *看 起 来* 它 ........。" as avlee, aaron792, moonflowersong, Zulis agreed with) all make sense to me.

This sentence is no so clear to you. Rewriting it as  moonflowersong suggested may help avoid this ambiguousness.


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## snowyau

Kirimaru said:


> It is a sentence I found in an exercise book. I really do not know what the thing mentioned is ,jedediah
> 
> To be honest, both ways of putting  看 起 来 ( "你 们 所 做 的 *看 起 来* 是 小事......." as  xiaolijie mentioned and                               "你 们 所 做 的 是 小事, 但 *看 起 来* 它 ........。" as avlee, aaron792, moonflowersong, Zulis agreed with) all make sense to me.
> 
> This sentence is no so clear to you. Rewriting it as  moonflowersong suggested may help avoid this ambiguousness.



I feel, the phrase 看起来 used in this context means "(as it) appears to (the casual observer)" - it may or may not be real.

You can move the phrase "appears to" to either place in the sentence, but it depends on where your emphasis is.

I would say "你 们 所 做 的 *看 起 来* 是 小事" ("while it appears what you've done is a small thing...") is closest to what you should say if it was meant to be a compliment, as it removes ambiguity.

Chinese is loaded with euphemism, ambiguity is often designed to hide a meaning for the listener to read between the lines. Better to have clarity in meaning than correctness in grammar.


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## Kirimaru

Thank you a lot,snowyau 
Your idea is really useful to me.


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