GrammarJLPT N5
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Hearsay / Conjecture / Typical Qualities
JLPT N5Auxiliary adjectiveNeutral
らしい is a versatile auxiliary adjective with two core functions. First, it expresses conjecture based on evidence or information the speaker has gathered — translating as "it seems that" or "apparently." Unlike そうだ (hearsay), which simply relays what someone said, らしい implies the speaker has processed the information and is presenting it as a reasonable conclusion, though still not fully confirmed. Second, when attached as a suffix to a noun, らしい means "typical of" or "-like" in a positive sense, indicating that something embodies the ideal qualities of that noun — for example, 子供らしい means "childlike" in the sense of behaving as a child naturally should. This is different from っぽい, which tends to carry a slightly negative nuance of "having too much of that quality" or resembling something one is not. Because らしい conjugates as an い-adjective, it can be negated (らしくない), used adverbially (らしく), and placed before nouns (らしい + noun).
Functions
#1 Conjecture based on evidence or information
Structure
Verb / Adjective / Noun (plain form) + らしい
明日は雨が降るらしい。
Here らしい is used to express a conjecture that the speaker has formed based on some information — perhaps they checked the weather forecast, heard it from someone, or noticed dark clouds. The speaker is not stating it as certain fact but as something that appears likely. This usage attaches to the plain form of verbs, adjectives, and nouns, and conveys a moderate level of confidence that sits between pure hearsay and firsthand knowledge.It seems like it will rain tomorrow.
Structures
- Verb (plain form)
- Verb (plain form) + らしい
- い-Adjective
- い-Adjective (plain form) + らしい
- な-Adjective
- な-Adjective stem + らしい
- Noun (conjecture)
- Noun + らしい
- Noun (typical of)
- Noun + らしい (suffix meaning '-like, typical of')
Common mistakes
A common mistake is confusing らしい with そうだ (appearance). When you see someone who looks tired, you would say 疲れているようだ or 疲れていそうだ, not 疲れているらしい, because らしい is not typically used for judgments based on direct visual observation of appearance — it relies on indirect evidence or information. Another frequent error is confusing the two distinct uses of らしい itself: 学生らしい can mean either "apparently a student" (conjecture) or "student-like, befitting a student" (suffix), and context is the only way to distinguish them. Learners also sometimes incorrectly attach だ before らしい with な-adjectives or nouns in the conjecture usage — the correct forms are 静からしい and 学生らしい, not 静かだらしい or 学生だらしい. Finally, learners may mix up らしい (positive sense of "typical of") with っぽい (often slightly negative sense of "having too much of that quality"), failing to recognize the important nuance difference between the two.
Related
そうだ (hearsay)そうだ (appearance)ようだみたいだっぽいだろう