のように / のような

のように and のような mean "like": they compare something to a noun. The noun takes の, then のように goes before a verb or an adjective and のような before a noun.

• × 鳥ように飛びたい → 鳥のように飛びたい

のように or のような

The word that follows decides. ように works like an adverb and describes how something is done or how something is. ような works like a な-adjective and describes a noun.

• × 鳥のような飛びたい → 鳥のように飛びたい

At the end of a sentence it is のようだ. まるで in front makes the comparison stronger.

のように or みたいに

みたいに and みたいな mean the same and are the conversational forms; のように and のような suit writing and careful speech. みたい follows the noun directly, with no の.

• × 鳥のみたいに → 鳥みたいに

Usage notes

These go beyond comparing one thing to another.

"Such as"

のような also gives an example of a kind, and the noun is then one of them: a big city like Tokyo includes Tokyo.

After a verb: "as"

After a verb in the plain form, ように takes no の and means "as": the way someone said or did it.