Speculation

Heard / looks like / seems: らしい・ようだ・そうだ

'I heard Tanaka quit.' 'The sky is dark, it looks like it's about to rain.' These three all mean 'seems like' but are used differently.

What you'll learn

• Understand らしい (hearsay/rumor)
• Understand ようだ (based on observation)
• Understand そうだ appearance (looks like it's about to...)

JLPT N3 Japanese self-study — interactive practice, instant feedback, completely free.