まるで | Grammar

Structure

まるで + [noun] + のようだ / みたいだまるで + [verb (plain)] + ようだ / みたいだ / かのようだまるで + [verb ない-form]

Description

まるで is an adverb that sets up a comparison: "just like", "as if". It comes early in the sentence, and the sentence ends in ようだ, みたいだ or かのようだ. A noun takes の before ようだ and nothing before みたいだ.

。

This view is just like a painting.

。

This room is like a sauna.

。

It's as if I'm dreaming.

The comparison is not literally true: the room is not a sauna. That is what まるで adds. ようだ alone can also mean "it seems", a guess from evidence; with まるで in front, it can only be a likeness.

。

Tanaka seems to be out.

、。

The house is so quiet it is as if nobody were home.

かのようだ

After a verb, かのようだ underlines that the thing is not so: "as if – though in fact not". It belongs to writing and careful speech; みたいだ is the casual choice.

。

He acted as if he knew nothing.

。

It was as if time had stopped.

"Not at all"

With a negative, まるで means "not at all", like ぜんぜん全然, and needs no ようだ.

。

I don't understand it at all.

、。

Even after the explanation, it made no sense to me at all.

Examples

。

She sings just like a professional.

。

This scenery is just like a painting.

。

It's a story you can hardly believe.

、。

He knows this town well, as if he had lived here for years.

。

It's cold outside, just like winter.

。

It was as though I were dreaming.

。

Those two are just like brothers, aren't they?

。

She kept walking as if she couldn't hear anything.

。

This dish tastes just like something from a restaurant.

、。

After the earthquake, the town was just like ruins.

。

He cried just like a child.

。

It was as if time had stopped.