正如 (zhèng rú) is a verb meaning 'just as, precisely as', used to introduce a comparison that matches reality — it always points backward to something already stated or known. Unlike 如 (rú) 'to be like' or 如同 (rú tóng) 'to be as', which can start a general simile, 正如 is used specifically to confirm that something is exactly the same as a previous statement, expectation, or fact. It is more formal and emphatic than 如, and less literary than 犹如 (yóu rú).