Lesson 60: ねこ みたいに よく 食べた らしい

N4 · Lesson 60 · 18 min — Say "it seems ~", "like ~" and "I hear it seems ~", then tell ようだ, みたいだ, らしい and そうだ apart

Last lesson you learned two kinds of そうだ: looks ~ (おいしそう) and I hear ~ (降ふる そうだ). This lesson adds three more ways to say "seems": ようだ (you worked it out yourself), casual みたいだ, and らしい (you heard it). You'll also learn a handy comparison: "like ~".

After this lesson, you can:

• Say "it seems ~" when you see clues: 熱ねつが ある ようです。(He seems to have a fever.)
• Chat with friends using casual みたい: 店みせ、休やすみ みたいだよ。(The shop seems to be closed.)
• Say "like ~" with のような／のように (みたいな／みたいに): ねこ みたいに よく 食たべる。(She eats a lot, like a cat.)
• Use らしい to pass on what you heard, and tell ようだ／みたいだ／らしい／そうだ apart

The Girl Who Ate Like a Cat

Last lesson we found out the photo was taken at the shrine festival. Today Kumata works part-time at a dango shop on the shopping street... (らしい = I hear it seems; ねこ みたいに = like a cat, a joke in this story; 娘むすめさん = someone else's daughter)

You worked it out yourself: ようだ／みたいだ. You heard it: らしい. Like ~: のように. Next lesson: Rin guides Taiwanese tourists at the hotel!

Words for this lesson: shopping street and "seems"

• ラーメン屋や (rāmen'ya): ramen shop
• 娘むすめさん (musume-san): (someone else's) daughter
• 熱ねつ (netsu): fever; temperature
• 顔かお (kao): face
• 赤あかい (akai): red
• つかれる (tsukareru): to get tired
• みんな (minna): everyone
• かさ (kasa): umbrella
• 持もつ (motsu): to hold, to carry
• 夢ゆめ (yume): dream
• まるで (marude): just like, exactly as if
• 雪ゆき (yuki): snow
• 白しろい (shiroi): white
• 天気予報てんきよほう (tenki yohō): weather forecast
• お客きゃくさん (okyaku-san): guest, customer

Grammar 1 / 4: ようだ

Plain form + ようだ: you see clues and decide "it seems ~"

• Meaning: "seems ~" based on clues: With ようだ, the speaker sees, hears or senses some clues and decides "it seems like this." See a red face → 熱ねつが ある ようです (He seems to have a fever). See an empty shop → 休やすみの ようです (It seems to be closed).
• How to attach: like modifying a noun: Think of よう as a noun. Verbs and い-adjectives take the plain form directly (ある ようだ, 降ふった ようだ, おいしい ようだ). Add な after a な-adjective (有名ゆうめいな ようだ). Add の after a noun (休やすみの ようだ).
• ようだ / ようです: The plain style is ようだ and the polite style is ようです. ようです sounds calm and a bit formal, so it suits reports, announcements and talking to a teacher.
• Different from でしょう: でしょう is a guess in your head: "probably ~." ようです is based on clues in front of you: "it looks like ~." You see everyone holding umbrellas → みんな かさを 持もって います。雨あめが 降ふって いる ようです。

• 顔かおが 赤あかいです。熱ねつが ある ようです。 — His face is red. He seems to have a fever.
• だれも いません。店みせは 休やすみの ようです。 — There's nobody there. The shop seems to be closed.
• 先生せんせいは 元気げんきが ありません。つかれた ようです。 — Sensei has no energy. He seems to be tired.
• この 店みせは いつも にぎやかです。有名ゆうめいな ようです。 — This shop is always busy. It seems to be famous.
• みんな かさを 持もって います。雨あめが 降ふって いる ようです。 — Everyone is holding an umbrella. It seems to be raining.

Grammar 2 / 4: みたいだ

Plain form + みたいだ: same meaning as ようだ, but casual speech

• Same meaning as ようだ: みたいだ also means "it seems ~" based on clues. The only difference is the tone: みたいだ is casual spoken Japanese, and ようだ is more formal.
• How to attach: nouns and な-adj go straight on: Verbs and い-adjectives: plain form + みたい (ある みたい, 降ふった みたい, おいしい みたい). Nouns and な-adjectives: attach directly, with no の, no な and no だ (休やすみ みたい, 有名ゆうめい みたい).
• Sentence endings: With friends: みたい, みたいだ, みたいだね, みたいだよ. A bit more polite: みたいです. みたい conjugates like a な-adjective, so you'll also see みたいな and みたいに in the next grammar point.
• Which one should I use?: With Kumata and friends → みたい. With a teacher, at your hotel job, or in a report → ようです. Same fact: 店みせ、休やすみ みたいだよ (to a friend) / 店みせは 休やすみの ようです (formal).

• 熱ねつが ある みたい。 — He seems to have a fever.
• 店みせ、休やすみ みたいだよ。 — The shop seems to be closed.
• リン、つかれた みたいだね。 — Rin, you seem tired.
• この ラーメン屋や、有名ゆうめい みたいだね。 — This ramen shop seems to be famous.
• 雨あめが 降ふった みたいです。 — It seems to have rained.

Grammar 3 / 4: のような・のように

Nのような／Nのように: "like ~"; also "such as ~" for examples

• Comparison: like ~: N + の + ようだ can also mean "like ~": まるで 夢ゆめの ようです (It's just like a dream). Adding まるで (just like) makes it clear you are comparing, not saying it's really so. In the comic, Kumata's まるで その 娘むすめさん みたいだね is also a comparison.
• ような + noun, ように + verb or adjective: ねこの ような 人ひと (a person like a cat) / ねこの ように よく 食たべる (eats a lot, like a cat) / 雪ゆきの ように 白しろい (white as snow). In casual speech, の ような becomes みたいな and の ように becomes みたいに, and there is no の: ねこ みたいに. ("Eats like a cat" is just a joke in this story. It isn't a set phrase in Japanese.)
• Examples: such as ~: "Nの ような N" can also give an example: 京都きょうとの ような 古ふるい 町まちが 好すきです (I like old towns such as Kyoto). Kyoto is one example.
• One sentence, two meanings: あの 人ひとは 先生せんせいの ようです can mean "That person seems to be a teacher" (a guess) or "That person is like a teacher" (a comparison). The situation tells you which. To make it a comparison, add まるで.

• リンさんは 日本人にほんじんの ように 日本語にほんごを 上手じょうずに 話はなします。 — Rin speaks Japanese well, like a Japanese person.
• 京都きょうとの ような 古ふるい 町まちが 好すきです。 — I like old towns such as Kyoto.
• まるで 夢ゆめの ようです。 — It's just like a dream.
• 雪ゆきの ように 白しろい ねこ — A cat as white as snow
• くまや みたいな ラーメン屋やが 好すき。 — I like ramen shops such as くまや.

Grammar 4 / 4: らしい

Plain form + らしい: usually something you heard, "I hear it seems ~"

• Meaning: heard + seems: らしい is mostly used for news you heard (what people said, rumors, announcements), or for a guess from indirect clues. The speaker keeps a little distance: "Everyone says so, so it seems that way." In the comic, Kumata's ラーメン屋やが あった らしい is something he heard from the lady at the dango shop. When you saw it yourself and are stating your own judgment, ようだ／みたいだ sounds more natural.
• How to attach: nouns and な-adj go straight on: Verbs and い-adjectives take the plain form (降ふる らしい, あった らしい, おいしい らしい), never the ます form. Nouns and な-adjectives attach directly, with no だ, な or の (休やすみ らしい, 有名ゆうめい らしい). For the past, use だった (先生せんせいだった らしい). Polite: らしいです. Note: noun + らしい has another meaning you'll learn later. This lesson covers only "I hear it seems ~."
• らしい and the hearsay そうだ: 降ふる そうです passes on what you heard word for word (the forecast said "It will rain"). 降ふる らしいです means you heard it and add your own guess, "it seems so," so the source is vaguer.
• Four kinds of "seems" at a glance: 降ふりそうです: you look at the sky, it's about to rain (looks ~). 降ふる そうです: I heard it will rain (reported). 降ふる らしいです: I hear it seems it will rain (hearsay + guess). 降ふる ようです／みたいです: I see clues and judge that it seems it will rain.

• あした 雨あめが 降ふる らしいです。 — I hear it seems it will rain tomorrow.
• むかし、この 町まちに 有名ゆうめいな ラーメン屋やが あった らしい。 — I hear a famous ramen shop used to be around here.
• あの 店みせの だんごは おいしい らしいよ。 — I hear the dango at that shop is delicious.
• あの 人ひとは 先生せんせいだった らしいです。 — I hear that person used to be a teacher.
• くまやは あした 休やすみ らしいよ。 — I hear くまや is closed tomorrow.