How it looks like exactly

Is It “What It Looks Like” Or “How It Looks Like”? (Correct Version)

It’s all too easy to get certain words and phrases mixed up in English, especially for non-native speakers. The phrases “what it looks like” and “how it looks like” are great examples of this. Only of these is correct, so let’s look at them.

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Which Is Correct: “What It Looks Like” Or “How It Looks Like”?

“What it looks like” is the correct phrase when you want a description of what something looks like. Generally, we ask it when we can’t see something or have yet to see it. “How it looks like” uses the wrong interrogative pronoun “how” to determine the answer, which is incorrect.

The meaning of using the phrase “what it looks like,” according to The Cambridge Dictionary, is “something you say to ask someone to describe someone or something.”

We can apply this meaning to the phrase, in general, to find out that when we ask “what it looks like,” we want to know how someone might describe the thing, and we’re usually looking for a more detailed answer.

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Is It Correct To Say “How It Looks Like”?

That brings us to the phrase “hot it looks like.” It’s a surprisingly common mistake, even for some native speakers. However, it’s never correct to say, and you must learn this if you’re planning to use the two phrases yourself.

“How it looks like” is incorrect because it uses “how” to ask someone to describe the look of something. “How” is the wrong interrogative pronoun in this case, as we need “what” when we want to determine the description of something we’re not familiar with.

It’s common for non-native speakers to make this mistake because they might not be familiar with all the language rules associated with “how” and “what.” However, if you want to determine something that you’re unfamiliar with, then “what” is always the answer.

Also, the phrase “how it looks” is a correct saying used to make a value judgment rather than give a specific description. Since this is a real and correct phrase, many people often fuse the sayings “how it looks” and “what it looks like” to create the incorrect “how it looks like.”

Should I Say “How It Looks” Or “What It Looks Like”?

Now’s a good time to look at the differences between the two sayings. Both “how it looks” and “what it looks like” are correct, but it’s important to dive deeper into this before we make any final calls.

If you look at this graph, you can see that “what it looks like” is the most common choice because it is correct. “How it looks” is also a popular choice, but it’s used in a different context. “How it looks like” is unpopular but still gets used occasionally.

Since we’re looking at the information given through literature (usually novels) in the graph, it tells us that even authors make the mistake of using the wrong phrase sometimes. If an author can do it, then it’s no surprise that non-native learners do it too!

The other two phrases make sense to be seen in literature. One is used to find out a specific description of something (“what it looks like”), and the other is asking for a value judgment (“how it looks”).

The point is; even if you’re still making a mistake with the phrase, it’s not the end of the world. While most native speakers know the difference between correct and incorrect forms, they can still easily make mistakes. “How it looks like” should be at zero the whole way across the graph, but it wasn’t, showing even English speakers struggle with it sometimes.

What Does “How It Looks” Mean?

Let’s go over what “how it looks” means and how we might use it in a sentence. We’ve spoken about it a few times in this article, but we’re yet to actually touch on the definition.

Asking someone “how it looks” is used to ask for a value judgment of a particular thing. A typical response would be to some something up as “good,” “bad,” or some other adjective to describe it. It rarely gets more specific than that.

“How it looks” is seen as the more general of the two questions.

All of these sayings are correct ways to interpret the overall question. We typically want to include the object to let people know exactly what we’re talking about before giving them a chance to answer.

These are the most common responses (or any other adjective) you’ll see when someone asks “how it looks.” We start by saying “it looks” to refer to the object in question, then we talk about our own judgment of it.

How To Use “How It Looks” In A Sentence

Let’s go over a few examples of how we might use “how it looks” in a sentence. However, we’ve already briefly touched on the expected answers and questions you might include, so we’ll also include the incorrect version of “how it looks like.” That’ll help you understand what’s right and what’s wrong.

Remember, “how it looks” is used to find out what something looks like, typically with a simple one-word adjective answer to keep it as a general or vague value judgment.

Typically, we use the phrase in question form, though the last two examples also show it in statement form. It’s up to you how you want to use it; just make sure you use the correct phrase “how it looks” and leave “like” out of the end.

What Does “What It Looks Like” Mean?

We now should take some time to look at “what it looks like” and how it works in a sentence. It’s similar to “how it looks” in the sense that we can replace “it” with any object that we want to ask the description of.

“What it looks like” is used to find a more specific description of an object. We ask for someone to explain the object in greater detail to help us decide on it. Usually, we wouldn’t have seen this object ourselves and want to know more about it.

These are the general responses you might hear after asking “what it looks like.” They’re much more detailed and typically use more than one descriptive word. They’re also more closely linked to the context, allowing us to explore the description of something related to what someone asked for specifically (in the case of the office example and needing thirty desks).

Is It Correct To Say “What It Looks Like”?

How To Use “What It Looks Like” In A Sentence

Martin is the founder of Grammarhow.com. With top grades in English and teaching experience at university level, he is on a mission to share all of his knowledge about the English language. Having written thousands of articles, he is an expert in communicating difficult topics in a clear and understandable language.

Martin holds a Master’s degree in Finance and International Business from Aarhus University. Next to his studies, he has taught two classes in Business Strategy while also founding multiple online businesses. One of these relate to teaching people about personal finance and investments. In such a complex area, it is crucial to communicate in a clear and in-depth language so the readers will not be left with misunderstandings and unanswered questions.

Aside from online businesses and teaching, Martin has earlier in his career worked with corporate communication and PR. Furthermore, he has also worked as an buy-side equity analyst with a focus on interpreting the true meaning of company announcements.

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