modality N4 essential casualpolitewritten
ようだ — it seems / looks like ~
ようだ
Meaning
① conjecture from evidence: it seems / it appears that ~ — a guess the speaker draws from what they observe
② resemblance / comparison: like ~ / as if ~ — likens one thing to another
Key sentence
① conjecture from evidence
誰もいないようだ。
It seems no one is here.
② resemblance / comparison
彼女は天使のようだ。
She's like an angel.
Formation
| Attaches to | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Plain verb / i-adjective | V/A(plain) + ようだ | 降ったようだ / 高いようだ |
| na-adjective / noun | na-adj + な + ようだ; N + の + ようだ | 静かなようだ / 天使のようだ |
Examples
① conjecture from evidence
道が濡れている。夜に雨が降ったようだ。
The road is wet. It looks like it rained overnight.
彼は風邪をひいているようです。
He seems to have caught a cold.
② resemblance / comparison
この部屋は氷のように寒い。
This room is as cold as ice.
まるで夢のような景色だった。
It was a dreamlike view.
Easily confused with
そうだ (hearsay) ようだ = the speaker's own inference from evidence ('looks like it rained'); そうだ (hearsay) = secondhand information ('I hear it rained'). Different sources of knowing. 〜らしい らしい leans on hearsay or what's typical and feels less personal; ようだ is the speaker's direct impression. らしい: 'apparently'; ようだ: 'it looks to me like'. 〜みたい みたい is the casual spoken equivalent of ようだ for both senses (雨が降ったみたい). ようだ is neutral-to-formal and the written choice.
Notes
- The same よう gives exemplification with な: 〜のような + noun ('a person such as ~'), e.g. 田中さんのような先生.
See ようだ in real sentences
Jengo shows ようだ the way you actually meet it: inside real Japanese sentences, so it sticks instead of staying an abstract rule.
Study it in JengoSources Compiled with reference to A Dictionary of Advanced Japanese Grammar, A Dictionary of Basic Japanese Grammar.