"It seems to me" VS "It strikes me"

Question

I am wondering if there is any difference between the phrases: "it strikes me" and "it seems to me".

As dictionary says:

"It strikes me that" means: "it seems to me that something is true or the case."

Example:

• I know you want to golf today, but look at those clouds—it's strikes me that it's going to rain.

Does it mean that they are interchangeable? If not, then how they differ in meaning?

PS. I think when you say: "it seems to me that...," you are more confident about what you utter. I.e. you a more vivid picture of what you mention in mind.

Answer 1

That example sentence, as a native speaker, doesn't quite flow (beyond the it's typo). "It strikes me" is a metaphoric phrase where the an idea comes to your mind suddenly and without warning, like being unexpectedly struck by the thought as if it were a projectile. Seeing some clouds looming in the distance and assuming future rain doesn't really seem to be something that would cause you to suddenly realize that golf is a bad idea. In this case, I would use "It seems to me..." instead.

Honestly, most usages I can come up with are past tense, "As I pondered the cherry trees in bloom, I was suddenly struck by the blossom's delicate beauty and wondered why I had not noticed this before."

With the lightning example, maybe: "I know you wanted to golf today, but after just seeing the lightning, it strikes me that perhaps golf isn't the greatest idea right now." Where you get the added bonus of striking being a pun on lightning "striking" things. Notice here also that the time element is "now" on when the idea appeared in my head, where the original had "going to rain" in the future. I think that might be the key to making that phrase work as well.

This one is a bit fuzzy to me honestly and really has me thinking deeply about that phrase, so I thank you for helping learn a bit more about my native language as well.