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（１） ここには、誰もいないようだ。- Looks like no one is here.
（２） 映画を観たようです。- Looks like [he] watched the movie.
When directly modifying nouns or na-adjectives, you must use the 「の」 particle for nouns or attach 「な」 to na-adjectives.
（３） 学生のようだ。- Looks like it's a student.
（４） ここは静かなようだ。- Looks like it's quiet.
Notice that （３） does not say that the person looks like a student. Rather, the explicit state of being states
that the person appears to be a student. On a side note, you can't say 「おいしいようだ」 to say that something looks tasty. This is like
saying, "This dish apparently is tasty," which can actually be kind of rude.
You can also use it as a na-adjective to describe something that appears to be something else.
（５） あの人を見たような気がした。- Had a feeling like I saw that person before.
（６） 彼は学生のような雰囲気ですね。- He has a student-like atmosphere.
Finally, we can attach the target particle to say things like, "I heard it like that" or "I said it like...".
（７） ちょっと怒ったように聞こえた。- Was able to hear it like (she) was a little mad.
（８） 何も起こらなかったように言った。- Said (it) like nothing happened.
| Positive | Negative | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Non-Past | 犬みたい | Looks like a dog | 犬じゃないみたい | Doesn't look like a dog |
| Past | 犬だったみたい | Looked like a dog | 犬じゃなかったみたい | Didn't look like a dog |
The implied meaning here is the person wearing the uniform is not really a student because he/she only looks like a student. This is different from （３） of the previous 「よう」 section which implied that the person appears to be (but might not be) a student. Again, we also can't say 「おいしいみたい」 to say that something looks tasty because it implies that, in actuality, the food might not be so good. Similarly, you would never say 「かわいいみたい」 to say that something looks cute.
Don't forget that 「みたい」 does not conjugate like the 「～たい」 form or i-adjectives.
（誤） このピザはお好み焼きみたくない？- (みたい conjugates like a na-adjective.)
（３） このピザはお好み焼きみたいじゃない？- Doesn't this pizza looks like okonomiyaki?
「みたい」 is really a grammar only used in conversation.
Do not use it in essays, articles, anything that needs to sound authoritative. You can use 「よう」 instead in the following fashion.
（６） もう売り切れのようだ。- It appears that it is sold-out already.
（７） このピザはお好み焼きのように見える。- This pizza looks like okonomiyaki.
Just like the grammar we have learned so far in this lesson, we can use this grammar by simply attaching 「そう」 to the end of verbs, and adjectives. However, there are four important different cases. Actually, I just noticed this but the conjugation rules are exactly the same as the 「～すぎる」 grammar we learned in the last section. The only difference is that for the adjective 「いい」, you need to change it to 「よさ」 before attaching 「そう」 to create 「よさそう」.
For ru-verbs, remove the 「る」
（１） バランスが崩れて、一瞬倒れそうだった。
- Losing my balance, I seemed likely to fall for a moment.
For u-verbs, change the / u / vowel sound to an / i / vowel sound
（２） この辺りにありそうだけどな。
- It seems likely that it would be around here but...
In the next example, the 「い」 has been dropped from 「おいしい」.
（１） この漬物はおいしそう！
- I bet this pickled vegetable is tasty! (This pickled vegetable looks good!)
Exception: The only exception to this rule is the adjective 「いい」. When using this grammar with 「いい」, you must first change it to 「よさ」.
（２） これも結構よさそうだけど、やっぱり高いよね。
- This one also seems to be good but, as expected, it's expensive, huh?
Nothing needs to be done for na-adjectives.
（３） お前なら、金髪の女が好きそうだな。
- Knowing you, I bet you like blond-haired girls.
The negative of 「来る」 is 「こない」 so when used with 「～そう」, it becomes 「こなさそう」.
（１） もう10時になったから、来なさそうだね。
- Since it already became 10:00, it's likely that (person) won't come.
（２） これはただの試合じゃなさそうだ。
- This isn't likely to be an ordinary match.
Identical to the 「～すぎる」 grammar, i-adjectives that are derived from the negative 「～ない」 like 「もったいない」 or 「情けない」 also follow this rule as well (which would be 「もったいなさそう」 and 「情けなさそう」 in this case).
（誤） その人は学生そう。
There are other grammars we have already covered that can be used to indicate that something is likely to be something else.
（１） その人は学生でしょう。
- That person is probably student.
（２） その人は学生だろう。
- That person is probably student.
Be careful never to use 「かわいい」 with this grammar. 「かわいそう」 is a completely different word used when you feel sorry for something or someone. 「かわいい」 means, "to look cute" already so you never need to use any of the grammar in this lesson to say something looks cute.
（１） この犬はかわいそう。
- Oh, this poor dog.
（２） この犬はかわいい。
- This dog is cute.
（１） 明日、雨が降るそうだ。- I hear that it's going to rain tomorrow.
（２） 毎日会いに行ったそうです。- I heard he went to meet everyday.
Don't forget to add 「だ」 for nouns or na-adjectives.
（３） 彼は、高校生だそうです。- I hear that he is a high school student.
When starting the
sentence with this grammar, you also need to add 「だ」 just like you do with 「だから」
（１） 今日、田中さんはこないの？- Is Tanaka-san not coming today?
（２） だそうです。- So I hear.
（Ａ） 今日、田中さんはこないの？- Is Tanaka-san not coming today?
（Ｂ） こないらしい。- Seems like it (based on what I heard).
（Ａ） あの人は何なの？- What is that person over there?
（Ｂ） 美由紀さんの友達らしいですよ。- Seems to be Miyuki-san's friend (based on what I heard).
Another way to use 「らしい」 is to indicate that a person seems to be a certain thing due to his behavior.
（１） あの子は子供らしくない。- That child does not act like a child.
（２） 大人らしくするつもりだったのに、大騒ぎしてしまった。- Despite the fact that I planned to act like an adult, I ended up making a big ruckus.
「 っぽい」 conjugates just like an i-adjective, as seen by example （３） below.
（１） あの人はちょっと韓国人っぽいよね。- That person looks like a Korean person, huh?
（２） みんなで、もう全部食べてしまったっぽいよ。- It appears that everybody ate everything already.
（３） 恭子は全然女っぽくないね。- Kyouko is not womanly at all, huh?
This page has last been revised on 2006/2/18 Revised explanation for ｢らしい」 (2005/4/26) Fixed 「なさそう」 examples to reflect only negatives (2006/2/18)