みたいだ / ようだ

JLPT N4 Japanese self-study　·　~12 min　·　Seems like / looks like — casual vs formal

'He seems tired.' 'It looks like rain.' Both みたいだ and ようだ mean 'seems like', but みたいだ is casual and ようだ is more formal and evidence-based.

What you'll learn

• みたいだ: casual, based on appearance (like/seems)
• ようだ: formal/objective, based on evidence
• 〜ように: like ~/so that ~ (adverbial simile)

How to study “みたいだ / ようだ”

“みたいだ / ようだ” (Seems like / looks like — casual vs formal) is a JLPT N4 chapter of our free Japanese self-study course, about 12 min. You learn by doing — flashcard drills and fill-in-the-blank quizzes graded on the spot — completely free, with no sign-up and no ad wall. Once it clicks, read the matching in-depth explainer over in Grammar.