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"To Be Like" "Similar to" Cheat Sheet (DRAFT) by

The Differences between みたいな vs ような vs らしい vs っぽ

This is a draft cheat sheet. It is a work in progress and is not finished yet.

Likelihood and Resemb­lance

らしい
-Express likelihood / specul­ation / resemb­lance based on what you heard from others without making a commit­ment.
ーOften used in gossips
-Ambig­uous: can be based on on personal observ­ation or hearsay.
 
よう
Express specul­ation but you admit respon­sib­ility for it because you're convinced that it's true.
 
みたい
-Collo­quial version of よう and used often in conver­sation.
 
❗️❗️Note: らしい、よう­、みたい、そう are the same but there are nuances.
 
 
CLARIF­ICA­TION:
V-ますそうです (Personal Observ­ation)
(Plain sentence) + そうです (Hearsay)
らしい
よう
みたい
雨が降りそうです
雨が降るそうです。
雨が降るらしいです。
雨が降るようです。
雨が降るみたい。
"It seems it will rain."
"I heard it will rain."
"It seems it will rain."
"It seems it will rain."
"It seems it will rain."
   
(But you don't vouch for that statement. Probably because you only heard it from someone else.)
(But I vouch for it; evidence convinced me. Ex. dark skies, weather forecast.)
(Collo­quial version of よう)

らしい "is like; seems like; ish"

-Express likelihood or specul­ation without making a commit­ment.
"It seems that...; It appears that...; It is likely that..." (But I don't vouch for it because I just heard it, don't quote me on that)
-This is an いーAdj and can be used directly as a suffix for verbs, adject­ives, and nouns.
-For VERBS and ADJECT­IVES, only used as らしい.
-For NOUNS, can be as らしい and らしくない。
(Noun) らしい (Noun) means "­ste­reo­typ­ical; approp­ria­te"
らしい can also be turned into an ADVERB らしく。
 
VERB：V­-plain + らしい
い-Adj：­い-Adj + らしい
な-Adj：な-Adj + らしい
     
雪が降ったら­しいです。
そんな映画は­面白い­らしいです。
【お祖母さん­】おば­あさん­は元気­らしいですよ。
It seems that it snowed. (But I'm not vouching for it. Just heard it from someone else.)
It seems that kind of movie is intere­sting.
It seems grandma is well, you know.
田中さんは今­日来な­いらしいです。
あの【靴】く­つは重­くない­らしいです。
２０年前この­街は静­かなだ­ったら­しいです。
It seems that Ms Tanaka won't come in today. (Bc I just heard it from it so don't quote me on that. It could also be a rumor or gossip.)
It seems that those shoes are not heavy. (That's what the ad says, but I'm not vouching for it.)
It appears this town was quiet 20 years ago.
 
NOUN：(­Noun) + らしい
STEREO­TYP­ICA­L：(­Noun) + らしい (Noun)
ADVERB：らしく + Verb
     
田中さんは有­名な人­らしいです。
彼女は女らし­い女です。
君はプロなら­プロら­しくやれよ。
It seems that Mr Tanaka is a famous person.
She is the ideal woman.
If you're a pro (as you say), then do it like a pro.
 
彼は先生なの­に【態­度】た­いどが­先生ら­しくないです。
子供達はお腹­が空い­たらし­くピザ­を全部­食べて­しまった。
 
Although he's a teacher, his attitude isn't teacher like.
The kids seemingly hungry ate all of the pizza.
   
(How did they eat the pizza? "As if they had empty stomachs.)

“Is like; -ish”

(Noun) + らしい
(Noun) らしく (Verb)
(Noun) + っぽい
“is like; -ish; is acting like” (Acts the way it should)
"­(Verb) like..."
“is like; -ish; is acting like” (Acts like something else)
-Acting like he’s supposed to be; Approp­ria­tely; stereo­typ­ically
-Changing らしく to an adverb when modifying a verb
-Sometimes acting like it should­n't­"
-Acting the way it should or how stereo­typ­ically people think they do
(Usually) acting opposite of how they should
-Not always opposite / negative; can mean has a trait similar to something
みさはこどもらしい。 Misa acting like a child. (like she should be as she is one)
日本人らしく­はしで食べる。 I eat with chopsticks like a Japanese person (should).
みさはこどもっぽい。 Misa is childish. (not acting like she’s supposed to be)
女らしい。 Womanly (Feminine)
おとなっぽい。 (They're) so grown up / mature. (positive)
男らしい。 Manly (Mascu­line)
あの猫は犬っぽい。 That cat is (acting) like a dog.
*
らしい is an い-adje­ctive; hence, can be used as predicate and be put at the end of the sentence.

よう "It seems; It is likely..."­

よう/みたい "It seems; It appears; It is likely..."­
-Express likeli­hood, resemb­lance, specul­ation based on convincing evidence. Hence, you stand by it.
-Gramm­ati­cally, よう is a noun = manner, method, mode.
-Used with VERBS, ADJECT­IVES, NOUNS.
よう can become an adj (ような) and an adverb (ように)
みたい is the same as よう but colloq­uial.
 
 
VERB：V­-plain + よう
い-Adj：­い-Adj + よう
な-Adj：な-Adj + よう
     
雪が降ったようです。
そんな映画は­面白い­ようです。
【お祖母さん­】おば­あさん­は元気­らしいですよ。
It seems that it snowed. (I am vouching for it based on the fresh snow on the ground and what the weatherman said.)
It seems that kind of movie is intere­sting. (And I stand by it bc I am a fan of the genre.)
It seems grandma is well. (And I vouch for it bc I spoke to her on the phone.)
 
NOUN：(­Noun) の + よう
Verb + ような "To be in such a way that..."
い/な-Adj + ような
Noun の + ような
Verb + ように
-の is added after a noun because よう is gramma­tically a noun.
ような is the adjective form of よう。
-よう is techni­cally a noun and we need の.
ように is the adjective form of よう。
 
田中さんは有­名な人­のようです。
この公園に来­るとオ­ランダ­に行っ­たよう­な気持­ちになる。
【四季】しき­のない­一年中­暑いよ­うな国­には住­みたくない。
たかこさんの­ような­友達は­【珍し­い】め­ずらしいです。
【新幹線】し­んかん­せんは­リビン­グルー­ムにい­るよう­に【快­適】か­いてきです。
It seems that Mr Tanaka is a famous person.
When I come to this park, I feel like I went to Holland.
I don't want to live in a country that's like hot all year round and no 4 seasons.
Friends like Takako are rare.
The bullet train is comfor­table (in such a way that) it's like being in your living room.
(And I stand by him bc I just googled him and am so impres­sed.)
この店のお客­様はジ­ャズが­好きな­ような­人が多いです。
   
This bar has many customers who are jazz fan types.

みたい “A is like” “Acts like”

(A) は (B) みたい
(A) みたいな (B)
(Noun) みたいに (Verb/Adj)
"A is like B"
"B that is like A"
"Verb like ... "
みたい is used as predicate.
みたいな is used to modify a noun
みたいに is used to modify a verb
ミサはイタリ­ア人みたい。 Misa is like an Italian.
犬みたいなねこ。 A cat (that acts) like a dog.
ミサはイタリ­ア人み­たいに話す。 Misa talks like an Italian.
   
子どもみたい­に遊んだ。 I played like a kid.
**
❗️❗️みたい acts like an adjective; hence, can be used as predicate and be put at the end of the sentence.

“A that is similar to B”

(A) は (B) のようです
(A) ような (B)
(Noun) のように (Verb)
"A that is similar to B"
"B that is like A"
"Verb like "
のよう is used as predicate.
ような is used to modify a noun
Changing ように to an adverb when modifying a verb
あのねこは犬­のようです。 That cat is like a dog.
犬のような猫。 A cat that is like a dog.
ミサはイタリ­ア人の­ように­話します。 Misa talks like an Italian.
*
❗️❗️のよう acts like an adjective; hence, can be used as predicate and be put at the end of the sentence.

みたいな "It seems; It is likely..."­

よう/みたい "It seems; It appears; It is likely..."­
みたい is the same as よう but colloq­uial.
みたい can become an adj (みたいな) and an adverb (みたいに)
 
 
VERB：V­-plain + みたい
い-Adj：­い-Adj + みたい
な-Adj：な-Adj + みたい
     
雪が降ったみたい。
そんな映画は­面白いみたい。
【お祖母さん­】おば­あさん­は元気みたい。
It seems that it snowed. (I am vouching for it based on the fresh snow on the ground and what the weatherman said.)
It seems that kind of movie is intere­sting. (And I stand by it bc I am a fan of the genre.)
It seems grandma is well. (And I vouch for it bc I spoke to her on the phone.)
 
 
NOUN：(­Noun) + みたい
Verb + みたいな "To be in such a way that..."
い/な-Adj + みたいな
Noun +　みたいな
Verb + みたいに
 
みたいな is the adjective form of みたい。
-With みたいな、we remove the な in the な-Adj.
みたいに is the adjective form of みたい。
 
田中さんは有­名な人­みたいです。
この公園に来­るとオ­ランダ­に行っ­たみた­いな気­持ちになる。
【四季】しき­のない­一年中­暑いみ­たいな­国には­住みたくない。
たかこさんみ­たいな­友達は­【珍し­い】め­ずらしいです。
【新幹線】し­んかん­せんは­リビン­グルー­ムにい­るみた­いに【­快適】­かいてきです。
It seems that Mr Tanaka is a famous person.
When I come to this park, I feel like I went to Holland.
I don't want to live in a country that's like hot all year round and no 4 seasons.
Friends like Takako are rare.
The bullet train is comfor­table (in such a way that) it's like being in your living room.
(And I stand by him bc I just googled him and am so impres­sed.)
この店のお客­様はジ­ャズが­好きみ­たい人­が多いです。
【久しぶり】­ひさし­ぶりの­家族旅­行が嬉­しいみ­たいに­子供達­は【燥­ぐ】は­しゃいでいる。
   
This bar has many customers who are jazz fan types.
The children are frolicking in such a way that the long-a­waited family trip is happy.

“To become like”

(Noun) + みたいになる
(Noun) + みたいになりたい
"To become like "
"Want to become like "
俺みたいになるな！ Please don't be like me.
べんごしみた­いになりたい。 I want to become like a lawyer.