Looks like: 〜みたいだ・〜みたいな
plain form (Noun / な-adj without だ) + みたいだ / みたいな + Noun / みたいに
Noun / な-adjective (root) / plain form + みたいだ: “looks like, it's like” (comparison, guess, example). The spoken version of ようだ, without の or な.
In short
〜みたいだ is the spoken, casual version of 〜ようだ (N4). It's used for comparisons (夢みたい, “it's like a dream”), for guesses based on what you see (風邪をひいたみたい, “I think I've caught a cold”) and for examples (京都みたいな町, “a town like Kyoto”).
- 京都に住めるなんて、夢みたいだ。きょうとにすめるなんて、ゆめみたいだ。Being able to live in Kyoto — it's like a dream.
- 外はもう暗い。雨が降るみたいだ。そとはもうくらい。あめがふるみたいだ。It's already dark outside. Looks like it's going to rain.
- 京都みたいな古い町が好きだ。きょうとみたいなふるいまちがすきだ。I love old towns like Kyoto.
The basics
みたい is a casual equivalent of よう. It conjugates like a な-adjective: みたいだ at the end of a sentence, みたいな before a noun, みたいに before a verb or an adjective. You hear it everywhere in speech; in careful writing, ようだ is preferred.
It's just like a dream.
- other
- noun
- grammatical form
- この部屋、ホテルみたいにきれいだね。このへや、ほてるみたいにきれいだね。This room is as clean as a hotel room.
- 田中さん、今日は元気がないみたい。たなかさん、きょうはげんきがないみたい。Mr Tanaka seems a bit down today.
How to form it
みたい attaches directly, without の or な: to the noun, to the root of a な-adjective, and to the plain form of verbs and い-adjectives. That's the big difference from ようだ, which needs の after a noun and な after a な-adjective.
| Word | みたい | ようだ |
|---|---|---|
| noun | 夢みたい | 夢のようだ |
| な-adjective | 静かみたい | 静かなようだ |
| い-adjective | 寒いみたい | 寒いようだ |
| verb | 降るみたい・降ったみたい | 降るようだ |
- あの店、今日は休みみたいだよ。あのみせ、きょうはやすみみたいだよ。Looks like that shop's closed today.
- この問題は、思ったより簡単みたいだ。このもんだいは、おもったよりかんたんみたいだ。This problem seems easier than I thought.
Three uses
Comparison: 夢みたい (it isn't a dream, but it's like one), often with まるで. Guess: 雨が降るみたい (from what I can see). Example: 京都みたいな町 (a town like Kyoto, or Kyoto itself). The context decides.
| Use | Example | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| comparison | まるで子どもみたいだ | just like a child |
| guess | だれもいないみたいだ | it seems nobody's there |
| example | すしみたいな和食 | Japanese food, like sushi |
- すしみたいな日本料理が食べたい。すしみたいなにほんりょうりがたべたい。I fancy some Japanese food — sushi, say.
みたい, ようだ, らしい, っぽい
みたい = a more casual ようだ. らしい (hearsay) is based on what you've heard, みたい on what you see or feel. っぽい is even more casual and says something has “an air of” X.
| Form | What the guess is based on | Register |
|---|---|---|
| 〜ようだ | what you observe | neutral, written |
| 〜みたいだ | what you observe | spoken |
| 〜らしい | what you've heard | neutral |
| 〜っぽい | an impression | very casual |
- ニュースによると、明日は雪らしい。にゅーすによると、あしたはゆきらしい。According to the news, it's going to snow tomorrow.
Common mistakes
- Adding な or の: 「静かなみたい」, 「夢のみたい」 are wrong; みたい attaches directly.
- Using みたい in careful writing or a formal letter: go for ようだ.
- Mixing up みたいな (before a noun) and みたいに (before a verb or an adjective).
8 exercises on this point
Particles to choose, sentences to put back in order, translations: marked straight away, then reviewed at the right time. This JLPT N3 point is on the Randen Line (Nature and climate) of the Kyoto lines.