N3 Appearance, Tendencies, and Hearsay

(まるで)~ようだ: meaning, usage and examples

(まるで)~ようだ means: as if... / just like... (simile).

Updated 9 November 2026 · By the My Senpai team · Spotted a mistake? Tell us

Examples

1. 合格ごうかくしたなんて、まるで夢ゆめのようです。

   I can't believe I passed. It's like a dream.

2. 彼かれは、まるでロボットのように正確せいかくに作業さぎょうする。

   He works with precision, just like a robot.

3. 四月しがつなのに、まるで夏なつのような暑あつさです。

   It's only April, but it's as hot as summer.

4. あの二人ふたりは、まるで本当ほんとうの姉妹しまいのようです。

   Those two are just like real sisters.

When to use it

まるで～ようだ makes a simile: "just like" or "as if". The speaker knows the thing is not really that, but it feels or looks that way: まるで夢ゆめのようだ (it is like a dream), まるで子こどものように泣ないた (cried just like a child). まるで at the front signals that a comparison is coming and makes it stronger.

Nuance

Slightly written or expressive; in conversation people often say まるで～みたい. The comparison is clearly not literal, so it is not a guess about the facts. まるで is used for comparisons and strong denial (まるで分わからない, not at all), not for real inferences.

Compare

ようだ alone can be a guess: 誰だれもいないようだ (it seems no one is here). With まるで it is only a comparison: まるでお城しろのようだ (it is like a castle). みたい is the casual form of both. らしい "typical of" means a real example of the type: 春はるらしい天気てんき (true spring weather), not "like spring".

Tip: If the statement is obviously not literally true, まるで fits. Use のように before a verb and のような before a noun.