N4 · Probability and hearsay
ようだ and みたいだ: it seems, it looks like
the appearance ようだ / みたいだ
A judgement from what you yourself see or feel — and the word for like.
ようだ joins the sentence the way a noun does when it is modified: a plain verb or i-adjective goes straight in front, a na-adjective takes な and a noun takes の: 寝ているようだ, 静かなようだ, 雨のようだ. みたいだ, its conversational partner, is simpler: nothing comes between, not even after a noun — 雨みたいだ, 静かみたいだ.
Both express the speaker's own judgement from direct evidence — what they can see, hear or feel. 電気が消えているから、誰もいないようです: the lights are off, so it seems nobody is in. That is the difference from らしい, which leans on what others have said.
Both also mean "like", in comparisons: 夢のようだ, "it is like a dream", 子どもみたいに笑う, "laugh like a child". Both inflect like na-adjectives, so before a noun they become ような and みたいな, and before a verb or adjective ように and みたいに. AのようなB can also give an example: 東京のような大きい都市, "big cities such as Tokyo".
Use ようです in polite speech and writing, and みたい with friends. The errors English speakers make are almost all at the joint: 学生ようだ without の, and 学生のみたい with one. Learn them as a pair: の for よう, nothing for みたい.
The form
| verb, plain | 寝ているようです |
| i-adjective | 高いようです |
| na-adjective + な | 静かなようです |
| noun + の | 雨のようです |
| casual, verb | 寝ているみたいです |
| casual, noun (nothing in between) | 雨みたいです |
| like + noun | 夢のような話 |
| like + verb | 子どもみたいに笑う |
The rules one by one
ようだ takes な after a na-adjective and の after a noun.
外は雨のようです。It seems to be raining outside.
みたいだ attaches directly, with no な or の.
彼、今日は休みみたいだね。Looks like he is off today.
Both express your own judgement from what you see, hear or feel.
電気が消えているから、誰もいないようです。The lights are off, so it seems nobody is in.
Before a noun use ような or みたいな; before a verb or adjective use ように or みたいに.
夢のような話ですね。It sounds like a dream.
AのようなB can mean "B such as A".
東京のような大きい都市は家賃が高いです。In big cities like Tokyo, rents are high.
A closer look
ようだ and the そう of appearance
The stem form 降りそうだ and 降っているようだ both rest on what the speaker sees, but they look at different things. そう reads the surface: dark clouds, so rain looks imminent. よう draws a conclusion from signs: people outside have umbrellas open, so it seems to be raining.
For things you can see directly — a cake that looks delicious, a person who looks tired — そう is the natural choice. For conclusions from clues — nobody answers the door, so nobody seems to be home — ようだ or みたいだ is.
How to spot it
- ようです
- みたいです
- ような
- ように
- みたいな
- みたいに
- まるで
Example sentences
誰か来たようです。It seems someone has come.
この牛乳は少し古いようです。This milk seems to be a bit old.
彼女は疲れているみたいですね。She seems tired, doesn't she?
今日は道が混んでいるようです。The roads seem to be busy today.
まるで夢のようです。It is just like a dream.
兄は子どもみたいに喜びました。My brother was as happy as a child.
7 more example sentences
熱があるようですね。今日は休んでください。You seem to have a temperature. Please rest today.
あの二人は姉妹みたいですね。Those two look like sisters.
部屋の中から音がします。誰かいるようです。There are sounds from inside the room. Someone seems to be there.
試験は思ったより簡単だったようです。The exam seems to have been easier than expected.
田中さんはお酒が好きなようです。Mr Tanaka seems to like drinking.
この町は絵のようにきれいです。This town is as pretty as a picture.
猫みたいな顔の犬を見ました。I saw a dog with a face like a cat's.
Worth knowing (1)
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まるで: just like
まるで in front of a comparison with ようだ or みたいだ stresses that the thing is not literally so but feels exactly like it: "it is just like…". It goes with the "like" meaning, not with the "it seems" meaning.
今日はまるで夏みたいに暑いですね。It is as hot as summer today.
The trap English speakers fall into
Watch out
よう behaves like a noun, and when one noun describes another, Japanese normally puts の between them. みたい is the exception that makes this confusing: 雨みたい is correct, 雨よう is not.
ようだ wants な or の in front; みたいだ wants nothing.
Your turn
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