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Lesson 28 – Advanced – Distinguish between 似的and 似地

When the foreign students take the one-on-one Chinese learning programs in China, they may be confused at the words like似的and 似地. The two words are similar to each other. They have similar grammatical use as well. But they differ in some certain points. In the following paragraphs, we will talk about the specific rules of the use of the two words. The foreign students who are in the Chinese learning programs should pay attention to the use of the words and read more to understand the use of the words.

The pinyin of the word 似的 is shide. The word 似的is an auxiliary word used to refer to comparison. It has the meaning of like something, be the same as something. The word is often used after the nouns, pronouns and words of verbal senses. The stress is on the resemblance of the various things and something is like the other. The word 似的is often collocated with the adverbs like 好像as if or 仿佛as though but 似的can be used alone. The word 也似的had the same meaning to the word 似的. The only difference is that the word 也似的is used in the written form and can not be used in the oral context. The foreign students who learn Chinese in Yunnan should pay attention to the point. For example, 这辆出租车飞也似的从他身边擦过 the taxi passed from him as if it was flying.

When the word 似的is used as a phrase and functions the adverbial, the word 似的is often replaced by the word 似地. For example, one can make the sentence 她泥菩萨似地坐着一动也不动 she sat down like a Buddha and did not change for a while. Another example is 中秋晚上,月光把大地照得白昼似地明亮 The moonlight shines the land to the lightest on the evening of Mid-Autumn Festival.

The word 似的came into being in the modern period in north China and was an auxiliary word which expressed comparison. In the traditional sense, the word is written as 似的. In the first chapter in A Dream in Red Mansions, it reads that 横竖这酒蜜水儿似的,多喝点子也无妨 the wine is just like honey and you can drink more. In the article Moonlight over Lotus Pond, the sentence reads 缕缕清香,仿佛远处高楼上飘渺的歌声似的 the continuous faint scent is just like the melodies in the distance. The word 似的in the above sentences can not be replaced by the word似地. In any circumstance, there is no need to replace the word似的by the word 似地. 

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