GrammarJLPT N5
→ it seems that ...
It seems that / It appears that / Is like
JLPT N5Auxiliary verbNeutral
ようだ is an auxiliary expression used to convey the speaker's subjective judgment or impression based on what they have personally observed, felt, or gathered from available evidence. Unlike らしい, which tends to rely on hearsay or indirect information, ようだ strongly implies that the speaker is drawing a conclusion from their own direct sensory experience or reasoning. It carries three major functions: expressing an inference or conjecture ('it seems that…'), drawing a simile or comparison ('is like…'), and providing an illustrative example ('such as…'). The casual equivalent of ようだ is みたいだ, which is used more freely in spoken Japanese. When modifying a noun, ようだ becomes ような, and when modifying a verb or adjective, it becomes ように. Because ようだ sits at a neutral-to-slightly-formal register, it appears comfortably in both spoken and written Japanese, making it one of the most versatile evidential expressions in the language.
Functions
#1 Conjecture based on evidence
Structure
Verb (plain) / い-Adj / な-Adj + な / Noun + の + ようだ
外は雨が降っているようだ。
Here the speaker has not gone outside but has noticed evidence — perhaps the sound of rain on the window or people carrying umbrellas — and uses ようだ to express a personal inference. This is the most common function of ようだ: stating something that appears to be the case based on what the speaker has directly perceived. The conclusion is presented as the speaker's own judgment rather than information received from someone else.It seems that it is raining outside.
Structures
- Verb (plain form)
- Verb (plain form) + ようだ
- い-Adjective
- い-Adjective + ようだ
- な-Adjective
- な-Adjective + な + ようだ
- Noun
- Noun + の + ようだ
Common mistakes
A frequent error is confusing ようだ with そうだ (appearance). While both express conjecture, そうだ attached to a verb stem describes how something looks as though it is about to happen (e.g., 雨が降りそうだ 'it looks like it will rain'), whereas ようだ indicates a conclusion drawn from broader evidence. Another common mistake is forgetting the connecting particles: な-adjectives require な before ようだ (静かなようだ), and nouns require の (夢のようだ). Learners also sometimes mix up ようだ and らしい; remember that ようだ emphasizes the speaker's own observation or impression, while らしい leans more on external information or hearsay. Finally, when using the 'so that' function, be careful not to place a volitional verb directly before ように — use non-volitional or potential forms instead (e.g., 食べられるように, not 食べるように when expressing ability-based purpose).
Related
みたいだらしいそうだ (appearance)みたいかのようだっぽい