LingakuLesson 106 of 126
The lesson
11.1 Looks like / seems
Overview
～そう — looks like / seems (based on appearance)
～そう is used when the speaker judges something from visible signs right now. It is not very confident so it shouldn't be used for things that are obvious, in such cases use ようだ or みたい instead.
- Verb (ます-stem) + そう + だ / です
- い-adjective [drop い] + そう + だ / です
- な-adjective + そう + だ / です
Negative:
- Verb (ない) [drop い] + そう + だ / です
- い-adjective (ない) [drop い] + さそう + だ / です
- な-adjective (では/じゃ ない) [drop い] + さそう + だ / です
～ようだ — seems / appears (based on reasoning)
～ようだ is used when the speaker makes a judgment based on information, logic, or evidence, not just appearance. It often appears in its kanji form as well: ようだ様だ.
Structure
- Verb (plain) + よう + だ / です
- い-adjective + よう + だ / です
- な-adjective + な + よう + だ / です
- Noun + の + よう + だ / です
Shows more confidence than ～そうだ. Therefore, it is better suited for stating things that are obvious.
Note that 〜ようだ is much more formal than 〜みたいだ. 〜みたいだ is more suitable for casual situations.
～みたいだ — seems / looks like (casual, subjective)
～みたいだ is similar to ～ようだ, but more casual and conversational.
While it is related to みる見る as it originates from をみた見たような, it doesn't appear in kanji form.
- Verb (plain) + みたい + だ / です
- い-adjective + みたい + だ / です
- な-adjective + みたい + だ / です
- Noun + みたい + だ / です
Also note that みたい is a な-adjective. It can also be followed by な + noun:
- 〜みたい + な + noun
Followed by a noun:
にみえる — looks (visually) like
～にみえる (～に見える) is used to say that something looks a certain way to the speaker based on visual appearance.
Note that みえる is a regular る-verb. Also note that the hiragana form is generally preferred as this is a grammar construction.
On its own:
- い-adjective [drop い] + く + にみえる
- な-adjective + にみえる
- Noun + にみえる
そう / よう / みたい add a layer of uncertainty to the statement, which then becomes more subjective. The meaning shifts toward “it seems to be …”.
- Verb + よう / みたい + に + みえる
- い-Adjective [drop い] + そうに + みえる
- な-Adjective + そう + に + みえる
- Noun + のよう / みたい + に + みえる
Summary
| Expression | Core meaning | Certainty | Tone / register |
|---|---|---|---|
| ～そう | looks like / seems | Low | Neutral → casual |
| ～ようだ | seems / appears | Medium-High | Neutral → formal |
| ～みたいだ | seems / looks like | Medium | Casual |
| ～にみえる | looks like | High | Neutral |
Dialogue
そら空をみる見ると、あめがふり雨が降りそうです。 このけえきケーキはとてもおいしそうです。 かれ彼はきょう今日ねむそう眠そうにしています。 そのしごと仕事はむずかし難しそうだとおもいます思います。 でんしゃ電車がおくれている遅れているようです。 そと外はおもった思ったよりさむい寒いようです。 かれ彼はまだねている寝ているようだから、あと後ででんわ電話します。 このもんだい問題はかんたん簡単なようで、じつ実はむずかしいです難しいです。 かのじょ彼女はつかれている疲れているようにみえます。 あのひとあの人はせんせい先生のようにみえますが、じつ実はがくせい学生です。 かれ彼はこない来ないみたいです。 このみせ店、しまってる閉まってるみたいだからべつ別のところ所へいきましょう行きましょう。
Looking at the sky, it seems like it's going to rain. This cake looks really delicious. He looks sleepy today. I think that job looks difficult. It seems the train is delayed. It seems colder outside than expected. He seems to still be sleeping, so I'll call later. This problem seems easy but is actually difficult. She appears to be tired. That person looks like a teacher, but is actually a student. It looks like he's not coming. This shop seems closed, so let's go somewhere else.
Grammar
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