ようだ

1. ようだ expresses the likelihood of something/someone, or the likeness of something/someone to something/someone. In either case, when the speaker uses ようだ, his statement is based on firsthand, reliable information (usually visual information).

2. ようだ can be used in counter-factual situations, as in Ex. (d). In this case, the adverb まるで 'just' can be used for emphasis.

(1)
• 木村さんはまるで酒を飲んだようだ。
• Mr. Kimura looks as if he had just drunk sake.

(2)
• あの人はまるで日本人のようです。
• That person is just like a Japanese person.

3. ようだ is a な type adjective and has the prenominal form ような and the adverbial form ように. (⇨ ように2) Examples:

(3)
• 今日田中さんのような人を見ました。
• I saw a man who looked like Mr. Tanaka.

(4)
• スミスさんは日本人のように日本語を話します。
• Mr. Smith speaks Japanese like a Japanese.

4. The colloquial version of ようだ is みたいだ, which is also a な type adjective. The uses of みたいだ are exactly the same as those for ようだ. The formation rules are as follows:

(5)
• {Verb/Adjectiveい} informal みたいだ

(6)
• {Adjective な stem/Noun} {Ø/だった} みたいだ

【Related Expressions】

The conjecture expressions Sentenceだろう, Sentenceらしい and Sentenceそうだ2 convey ideas similar to Sentenceようだ. The differences are as follows：

(A)

Sentenceだろう expresses the speaker's conjecture, but it is not necessarily based on any information. In other words, Sentenceだろう can be used when the speaker is merely guessing.

(B)

Sentenceらしい usually expresses the speaker's conjecture based on what the speaker has heard or read. That is, the information his conjecture is based on is not firsthand.

(C)

Sentenceそうだ2 expresses the speaker's conjecture about what is going to happen or the current state of someone or something. Although this expression is based on what the speaker sees or feels, it is merely his guess and the degree of certainty in his statement is fairly low. Only Verbます or Adjective (い/な) stem can precede そうだ2.

(D)

Sentenceようだ is also an expression which is usually based on what the speaker sees or saw. However, unlike Sentenceそうだ2, this expression involves the speaker's reasoning process based on firsthand, reliable information and his knowledge. Thus, the degree of certainty in ようだ is the highest of the four expressions compared here.

The following examples demonstrate the differences among these four expressions. The sentences in [1] present examples with the adjective 高い 'expensive' before the conjecture auxiliaries.

[1]

• a.この本は高いだろう。
• This book is probably expensive.
• b. この本は高いらしい。
• (From what I heard and/or read,) this book seems expensive.
• c. この本は高そうだ。
• This book looks expensive.
• d. この本は高いようだ。
• (Considering the prices of similar books,) tins book seems expensive.

Here, [1a] is mere conjecture, [1b] expresses the speaker's conjecture based on what he has heard and/or read. (If the sentence involves little conjecture, it is almost like hearsay. (⇨ そうだ1)) [1c] is also the speaker's guess, but in this case it is based on what he sees. [1d] expresses the speaker's judgment about the price of the book. Note that in [1d] the speaker knows the book's price; therefore, this is not a guess. [2] provides examples with the noun 先生 'teacher' preceding the conjecture words. The differences in meaning among the sentences here are the same as those explained in [1], except that [2c] is ungrammatical.

[2]

• a. あの人は先生だろう。
• I guess he is a teacher.
• b. あの人は先生らしい。
• (From what I heard,) he seems to be a teacher.
• c. *あの人は先生そうだ。
• d. あの人は先生のようだ。
• (Judging from how he looks,) he seems to be a teacher/He looks as if he were a teacher.

In [3], the verb 降る 'fall' precedes the conjecture auxiliaries.

[3]

• a. 今日は雨が降るだろう。
• I guess it will rain today.
• b. 今日は雨が降るらしい。
• (From what I heard,) it seems that it will rain today.
• c. 今にも雨が降りそうだ。
• It looks like it's going to rain at any moment.
• d. この辺はよく雨が降るようだ。
• (Judging from the abundance of trees and moss,) it appears that it rains a lot around here.

Here, [3a] is the speaker's guess. [3b] is the speaker's conjecture based on what he heard or it is almost like hearsay. [3c] is also the speaker's guess, but, in this case, he is probably looking at the sky. Like [3c], [3d] is based on what the speaker sees, but in this case the information is reliable, and involves the speaker's reasoning process.

The diagram in [4] summarizes the characteristics of the four conjecture expressions and そうだ1 (hearsay).

[4]