# Hình như / có vẻ: seems in Vietnamese (A2)

> Two everyday ways to say "it seems". They differ in where your impression comes from.

Source: https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/co-ve-seems/ · Updated 2026-10-17

**seems**

Pattern: `Hình như + [sentence] (+ thì phải) · [subject] + có vẻ (như) + [adjective or verb]`

Level: A2 (our estimate) · Register: everyday

Typed without accents: hinh nhu, co ve

Variants:

- có vẻ như
- nhìn có vẻ / trông có vẻ
- coi bộ (Saigon speech)
- … thì phải

Two everyday ways to say "it seems". They differ in where your impression comes from.

*Hình như* opens the sentence, for something you think is true because you heard it or half remember it: *Hình như ảnh về rồi.* I think he's gone home (in Hà Nội, *anh ấy*). It's also a polite way to say something you're not sure of: *Hình như em gặp chị ở đâu rồi.* I think we've met before. Some speakers add *thì phải* at the end for the same doubt: *Ảnh về rồi thì phải.*

*Có vẻ* is about how something looks. It goes after the person or thing, before a describing word or a verb: *Chị có vẻ mệt.* You look tired. *Món này có vẻ ngon.* This looks good. To put it before a whole sentence, say *có vẻ như*: *Có vẻ như trời sắp mưa.* It looks like it's going to rain. In casual Saigon speech, *coi bộ* does the same job: *Coi bộ trời sắp mưa.*

*Chắc* (probably) and *có lẽ* (perhaps) make a guess. These two report an impression: use *hình như* for what you've heard, and *có vẻ* for what you can see.

## Examples

- Saigon: Hình như ảnh về rồi. | Hà Nội: Hình như anh ấy về rồi. — I think he's gone home.
- Hình như em gặp chị ở đâu rồi. — I think I've met you somewhere before.
- Chị có vẻ mệt. — You look tired.
- Có vẻ như trời sắp mưa. — It looks like it's going to rain.

## Words in this pattern

- [hình như](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/words/hinh-nhu/#s_hinh_nhu): it seems

## Compare

- [It seems (written): dường như](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/duong-nhu/): it seems
- [Perhaps: có lẽ](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/co-le-perhaps/): perhaps
- [Probably, must be: chắc (là)](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/chac-probably/): probably
- [I find, I feel: thấy + adjective or sentence](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/thay-feel-find/): feel; find (in my view)

Previous in Can, must, should, want: [Go ahead, just keep on: cứ + verb](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/cu-go-ahead/)
Next in Can, must, should, want: [Let me: Để + person + verb](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/de-let/)

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