HSK 4
情态副词：几乎、似乎
qíng tài fù cí ： jī hū 、 sì hū
Modal adverbs: 几乎, 似乎
Explanation
几乎 (jīhū) and 似乎 (sìhū) are both adverbs (words that modify a verb or adjective), but their meanings differ: 几乎 means 'almost, nearly'; 似乎 means 'seemingly, it seems'.
几乎 + verb/adjective (often accompanied by 都 dōu = all, or the negative 没 méi); 似乎 + verb/adjective (a sentence of conjecture).
use 几乎 when a situation nearly reaches a certain point (almost done, nearly); use 似乎 when you are making a guess and are not certain about what you observe.
几乎 speaks of DEGREE (nearly reaching a threshold), e.g. 几乎都没听懂 = almost didn't understand anything; 似乎 speaks of subjective CONJECTURE (it seems to be so), without firm assertion.
Vietnamese learners often confuse the two words because Vietnamese translates them similarly as 'almost / seemingly'. Remember: 几乎 = a near-miss degree, often going with a number or 没/都; 似乎 = conjecture, often describing a feeling or attitude.
Examples
I almost didn't understand anything he said.
She seems to be very dissatisfied with her own performance.
Practice
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Learn “情态副词：几乎、似乎” effectively
The grammar point “情态副词：几乎、似乎” (Modal adverbs: 几乎, 似乎) is one of the key structures at HSK 4. To use it fluently, you need to understand the contexts where it's used and practice regularly.
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