How to Say "It Looks Good" in Chinese

看起来不错

The English phrase 'it looks good' can be translated into Chinese as 看起来不错.

看起来不错 is used to describe the visual appearance of an object, a person or even an abstract situation or idea.

What does it mean word for word?

The phrase is composed of 看起来, which means 'looks like' or 'appears' and 不错, which means 'not bad' or 'good'.

While 不错 literally means 'not bad', in modern Chinese it is a very common and natural way to say something is 'good' or 'fine'.

You can increase the intensity of the phrase from 'not bad' to 'very good' by replacing 不错 with 很好, resulting in 看起来很好.

In Chinese culture, saying 不错 ('not bad') is often a more polite and humble way to give a high compliment than using a superlatively positive word.
When praising someone's appearance, using 看起来不错 can sometimes be too casual. In formal settings, speakers prefer terms like 气质很好 to describe the 'aura' or 'class' a person projects.
In Chinese, the word 不错 (búcuò) literally translates to 'not wrong', which is an older way of saying 'correct' or 'right'.

看起来不错。
It looks good.
This sentence demonstrates how to use 看起来不错.
Tatoeba #1808254 by sadhen, translation #1808249 by Spamster
他的新发型很不错。
Tā de xīn fǎxíng hěn búcuò.
His new hairstyle looks really good.
这幅画非常美观。
Zhè fú huà fēicháng měiguān.
This painting looks very beautiful.
这套房子装修得非常漂亮。
Zhè tào fángzi zhuāngxiū de fēicháng piàoliang.
This house is decorated beautifully.
你的新衣服真好看。
Nǐ de xīn yīfú zhēn hǎokàn.
Your new clothes look really good.
这个景色太赞了！
Zhège jǐngsè tài zànle!
This view is absolutely stunning!
这件衣服看起来不错。
Zhè jiàn yīfu kàn qǐlái bùcuò.
This piece of clothing looks good.
这个设计看起来不错。
Zhège shèjì kàn qǐlái bùcuò.
This design looks good.

Zhiqiang and Jiayi are looking at a new cafe design.

志强 Zhiqiang

你觉得这家店怎么样？
Nǐ juéde zhè jiā diàn zěnmeyàng?
What do you think of this shop?
佳怡 Jiayi

装修看起来不错。
Zhuāngxiū kàn qǐlái bùcuò.
The decoration looks good.
志强 Zhiqiang

我也这么觉得。
Wǒ yě zhème juéde.
I think so too.
佳怡 Jiayi

我们进去看看吧。
Wǒmen jìnqu kànkan ba.
Let's go inside and take a look.

Sources

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