仿佛 meaning in English

fǎngfú

to seem; as if; seemingly; alike; similar

HSK 6adverbTraditional 彷彿13 strokes

Meaning of 仿佛

Definitions from CC-CEDICT.

fǎngfú

to seem; as if; seemingly
alike; similar

fǎngfú

to seem; as if; seemingly
alike; similar

How to use 仿佛

仿佛 is a written, somewhat literary adverb used to describe an impression or comparison, often paired with 一样 or 似的 at the end. Example: 他仿佛没听见我的话。(Tā fǎngfú méi tīngjiàn wǒ de huà.) He seemed not to hear what I said.

Both characters have the person radical 亻 on the left. Picture one person 仿 (fǎng) copying another, so closely that they seem alike, which gives the sense of "as if" or "seemingly."

Common mistake: In 仿佛 the second character is read fú, not fó as in 佛教 (Fójiào) or 佛像 (fóxiàng). Learners also mix up 仿 (fǎng) with 访 (fǎng, to visit), which has the speech radical 讠 instead of 亻.

仿佛 in example sentences

Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.

他tā安ān静jìng地dì读dú著zhù书shū，仿fǎng佛fú什shén么me事shì都dōu没méi发fā生shēng过guò。

He read a book quietly, as though nothing had happened.

一yī年nián过guò去qù了le，但dàn仿fǎng佛fú我wǒ们men昨zuó天tiān还hái见jiàn过guò面miàn似shì的de。

A year has passed, but it's as if we saw each other only yesterday.

那nà一yī刻kè，时shí间jiān仿fǎng佛fú静jìng止zhǐ了le。

At that moment, time seemed to stand still.

他tā讲jiǎng起qǐ那nà场chǎng事shì故gù，讲jiǎng得de仿fǎng佛fú他tā亲qīn眼yǎn所suǒ见jiàn。

He recounted the accident to me as if he had seen it with his own eyes.

在zài他tā们men双shuāng目mù交jiāo接jiē的de瞬shùn间jiān，世shì界jiè仿fǎng佛fú静jìng止zhǐ了le。

When their eyes met, it was as if the world stood still.

Stroke order for each character

Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.

仿 fǎng · to imitate · 6 strokes

佛 fó · Buddha · 7 strokes

Related words

Words that share a character with 仿佛.

模仿	mófǎng	to imitate; to copy
佛教	Fójiào	Buddhism
效仿	xiàofǎng	see 仿傚\|仿效[fang3 xiao4]
仿制	fǎngzhì	to copy; to imitate
仿宋	fǎngSòng	imitation Song dynasty typeface; Fangsong font
佛像	fóxiàng	Buddhist image; statue of Buddha or Bodhisattva
相仿	xiāngfǎng	similar

Questions about 仿佛

What does 仿佛 mean?

仿佛 (fǎngfú) means "to seem; as if; seemingly; alike; similar" and is used as a adverb.

How do you write 仿佛?

仿佛 is made of 2 characters: 仿 (6 strokes), 佛 (7 strokes). That is 13 strokes in total.

Is 仿佛 an HSK word?

Yes. 仿佛 is on the HSK 6 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.

How is 仿佛 written in traditional Chinese?

In traditional characters, 仿佛 is written 彷彿.

What is the difference between 仿佛 and 好像?

Both mean "as if" or "to seem." 好像 (hǎoxiàng) is the everyday spoken choice, while 仿佛 sounds more literary and is common in writing and descriptive prose.

Can 仿佛 be used with 一样 or 似的?

Yes. Patterns like 仿佛……一样 or 仿佛……似的 are common, for example 她笑得仿佛孩子一样 (She laughed like a child). The ending words reinforce the comparison but are optional.