N4 Appearance & Hearsay

~ようだ/みたいだ: meaning, usage and examples

~ようだ/みたいだ means: it seems that…

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

Examples

1. 彼かれは忙いそがしいようです。

   He seems to be busy.

2. 雨あめが降ふるみたいです。

   It looks like it is going to rain.

3. 電気でんきが消きえていますね。誰だれもいないようです。

   The lights are off. It seems nobody is here.

4. あの店みせはもう閉しまったみたいですね。

   It looks like that shop has already closed.

When to use it

ようだ and みたいだ mean "it seems that" or "it looks like". The speaker makes a guess based on what they saw, heard or felt themselves: 電気でんきが消きえています。誰だれもいないようです. Both also mean "like" or "similar to": 夢ゆめのようだ, 夢ゆめみたいだ (It is like a dream). The meaning is the same; only the register differs.

Nuance

ようだ is more formal and is common in writing and polite speech. みたいだ is casual and very common in conversation. Both soften a statement, so they are also used to sound less direct about facts the speaker is fairly sure of.

Compare

ようだ / みたいだ: your own judgment from evidence (風邪かぜをひいたようだ). らしい: based on information heard or read (風邪かぜをひいたらしい). そうだ (appearance): an impression from looking, with the stem (雨あめが降ふりそうだ). そうだ (hearsay): only reporting what you heard (雨あめが降ふるそうだ).

Tip: Watch the connection: みたい joins nouns and な-adjectives directly (学生がくせいみたい, 静しずかみたい), but ようだ needs の or な (学生がくせいのよう, 静しずかなよう).