look

Compared meaning: to look at something (verb).

比较义项：看，注视（动词）。

• stare

  To look steadily and intensely for a long time, often considered rude or a sign of surprise; usually implies direct, unblinking eye contact.

  长时间死死地盯着看，常显得无礼或表示惊讶；通常指目光直接、一动不动地盯住某人或某物。

  It's rude to stare at people just because they look different.

  仅仅因为别人长得不一样就盯着人家看，是很不礼貌的。

• look 本词

  The plain, neutral verb for directing your eyes somewhere; it carries no sense of duration, intensity or secrecy and works as a general command or description.

  最普通、最中性的“看”，只表示把目光投向某处，不带有持续时间长短、强烈程度或偷偷摸摸的含义，常用作一般性的指令或描述。

  Look up and you'll see hundreds of stars tonight.

  抬头看，今晚你会看到成百上千颗星星。

• gaze

  To look steadily at something for a long time, usually with a soft, admiring, dreamy or thoughtful feeling rather than rudeness.

  长时间凝视，通常带有柔和、爱慕、恍惚或若有所思的感情色彩，而不是无礼的意味。

  She gazed lovingly at the sleeping baby.

  她深情地凝视着熟睡的婴儿。

• peek

  To take a quick, brief look, often secretly, cautiously or through a small gap, the opposite of a long stare or gaze.

  快速地看一眼，常常是偷偷地、小心翼翼地或透过一个小缝隙看，与长时间盯着看（stare/gaze）相反。

  She peeked through the curtains to see who was at the door.

  她透过窗帘偷看了一眼，想看看是谁在门口。

Stare, look, gaze and peek all mean to look at something, but differ. Look is the plain, neutral word. Stare means looking steadily and long, often rudely. Gaze means looking long, but softly or dreamily. Peek means a quick, secret look. Look also means 'appear'.

这几个词都表示“看”这个动作，但持续时间和态度不同：stare 表示长时间盯着看，常带无礼或惊讶的意味；look 是最中性、最常用的说法，只表示把目光投向某处；gaze 也表示长时间凝视，但通常带有柔和、着迷或若有所思的感情色彩；peek 则表示快速地、常常是偷偷地看一眼。这里不比较 look 作“看起来”（look like）等其他用法。

Compared meaning: to seem in a certain way (verb).

比较义项：显得，看起来（动词）。

• look 本词

  Look describes how someone or something seems based on visible appearance; it is usually followed directly by an adjective and is common in everyday, informal speech.

  look主要根据看得到的外表来判断某人或某物显得如何，通常直接接形容词，是日常口语中很常见的用法。

  He looked really nervous just before his job interview.

  他在参加工作面试前显得非常紧张。

• appear

  Appear is a more formal, often written alternative to look; it can be based on evidence beyond sight, not just visual impression, and often introduces an infinitive or clause.

  appear比look更正式，常用于书面语，判断依据不限于视觉印象，还可以来自其他证据，后面常接不定式或从句。

  The company appears to be struggling despite its recent profits.

  尽管这家公司最近盈利，但它似乎正陷入困境。

Look and appear both mean to seem a certain way. Look is informal, based on visible appearance. Appear is more formal, and can rest on evidence beyond sight. Look can mean 'to look at'; appear can mean 'to come into view'; not compared.

这两个词在“显得，看起来”这个意义上很接近，都表示凭某种印象判断人或事物的样子，但look更偏口语，依据看得到的外表；appear更正式、书面，依据的证据不限于视觉。这里不比较look的“看，望”义项，也不比较appear的“出现”义项。

Compared meaning: the emotion shown on someone's face (noun).

比较义项：脸上流露出的神情、表情（名词）。

• look 本词

  Describes the fleeting appearance on someone's face or in their eyes at one moment; casual and physical, typically paired with an adjective, and never used for expressing ideas in words.

  描述某人脸上或眼神中某一刻流露出的短暂神态，语气随意、偏重外在表现，通常与形容词搭配使用，不用于表示用言语表达想法。

  There was a look of confusion in her eyes as she read the strange letter.

  她读那封奇怪的信时，眼中带着一丝困惑的look。

• expression

  Refers broadly to how feelings are shown on the whole face, or even through words and tone; more formal, used in fixed phrases like 'facial expression', and fits when talking about controlling emotion rather than just the eyes.

  泛指整张脸上流露出的情绪，甚至可以指用言语或语气表达情感；语气更正式，常用于「facial expression」这样的固定搭配，也适合表示克制情绪时脸上的样子，而不仅限于眼神。

  He kept a calm expression throughout the entire meeting, hiding his nerves.

  整场会议中，他脸上始终保持着平静的expression，掩饰着内心的紧张。

Look and expression both mean an emotion shown on the face. Look is the fleeting look in someone's eyes, casual. Expression is broader and formal, and can mean expressing ideas in words. Look also means 'style'; expression also means a math term; not compared.

look和expression在表示「神情、表情」时意思相近，都可以形容脸上流露出的情绪；但look更侧重外表或眼神在某一刻呈现的样子，语气较随意，而expression更正式、范围更广，既可以指整张脸的神情，也可以指用言语或语气表达想法。这里不比较expression表示「表达式」（如数学表达式）等其他用法，也不比较look作动词「看」或指「造型、款式」的用法。