みたいだ (mitai da)
～みたいだ — “seems like ～ / is like ～”
Pattern
-
動詞・い形容詞の普通形 ＋ みたいだ降っている → 降っているみたいだ / 元気がない → 元気がないみたいだ -
名詞・な形容詞（だ／な を除く）＋ みたいだ雨みたいだ / 魚みたいだ
Where it comes from
みたい comes from the verb 見る, and with だ it means “looks like ～.” This gives two senses: a guess about appearance and a comparison. It attaches directly to nouns and na-adjectives (雨みたいだ, 静かみたいだ).
When to use it
Use it when you guess from what you see, as in 雨みたいだ, or about a friend, as in 元気がないみたいだ. It is also used for comparison, such as a cloud that looks like a fish. The polite form is みたいです.
Difference from similar words
It means the same as ようだ but fits speech. らしい is based on what you heard from others, while みたいだ is based on what you saw or felt yourself.
Examples
-
外（そと）は雨（あめ）みたいだ。
Soto wa ame mitai da.
It looks like it's raining outside.
A noun is followed directly by みたいだ.
-
友（とも）だちは今日（きょう）、元気（げんき）がないみたいだ。
Tomodachi wa kyō, genki ga nai mitai da.
My friend seems to have no energy today.
-
空（そら）に浮（う）かぶあの雲（くも）は、魚（さかな）みたいだ。
Sora ni ukabu ano kumo wa, sakana mitai da.
That cloud floating in the sky looks like a fish.
This is the comparison use.
Common mistakes
- Do not add だ or な before it: 雨だみたいだ and 静かなみたいだ are wrong.
- It is casual; use ようだ in reports and formal writing.
More grammar points
- はずだ ～はずだ — “should be ～ / is expected to ～”
- はずがない ～はずがない — “there's no way ～”
- かしら ～かしら — “I wonder ～” (feminine)
- かもしれない ～かもしれない — “might ～ / maybe ～”
- かな ～かな — “I wonder ～”
- きっと きっと — “surely / certainly”
- みたいな ～みたいな — “～-like / such as ～” (before a noun)
- みたいに ～みたいに — “like ～” (before a verb or adjective)
- に見（み）える ～に見える — “look ～ / appear ～”
- らしい ～らしい — “it seems ～ / I hear ～”
- そうだ ～そうだ — hearsay (“I hear that ～”)
- そうだ ～そうだ — appearance (“looks ～”)
- そうに / そうな ～そうに / ～そうな — adverb and modifier forms of “looks ～”
- と言（い）われている ～と言われている — it is said that ～
- と聞（き）いた ～と聞いた — I heard that ～
- ようだ ～ようだ — it seems ～, it appears ～
- ように / ような ～ように／～ような — like ～, as ～
- 間（あいだ） 間 — “during ～ / while ～ / between ～”
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