Metaphor with 〜ようだ

Usage Notes

A noun takes の before ようだ: 夢(ゆめ)のようだ. A verb takes its plain form, and then the comparison covers a whole situation: 夢(ゆめ)を見(み)ているようだ, “it’s as if I’m dreaming”. The adverb まるで (“just like”) often comes first and signals that a comparison is coming.

The same forms have two other uses, and context decides which one you’re reading:

• Comparison (this page): the speaker knows it isn’t literally true. 夢(ゆめ)のような一日(いちにち), “a day like a dream”.
• Inference: the speaker thinks it may well be true. 誰(だれ)もいないようだ, “it seems nobody’s here”.
• Example: the model really belongs to the group. 君(きみ)のような人(ひと), “someone like you”.

みたい is the casual equivalent: 夢(ゆめ)のようだ and 夢(ゆめ)みたいだ both mean “it’s like a dream”. みたい is the conversational choice. ようだ is more formal, though ような and ように are common in speech too.

Formation

Likening One Thing to Another

The speaker describes one thing in terms of something it resembles. Noun ＋ のような describes a noun that follows, and Noun ＋ のようだ ends the sentence.

While out buying cat food during acqua alta, when tides have risen onto the streets, Akari is caught in a heavy downpour. She finds herself near Himeya Company, where her friend Aika lives, and she’s invited in to stay the night. As the two watch the falling rain through a window, Akari types an e-mail about her adventure that day.

灯里(あかり):

「水没(すいぼつ)した街(まち)を歩(ある)いたり滝(たき)のような雨(あめ)に遭(あ)ったり」

“Walking through a flooded town, getting caught in a downpour...”

View Full Example

Akari’s email describes her day out during acqua alta. Rain isn’t a waterfall, so 滝(たき)のような雨(あめ) is a comparison: the rain came down so hard it was like a waterfall. ような comes before the noun it describes, 雨(あめ). The English translation turns the comparison into “a downpour”.

Likening a Whole Situation

A verb in the plain form lets the speaker compare a whole situation, not just one thing. まるで夢(ゆめ)を見(み)ているようだ, “it’s as if I’m dreaming”, says the moment feels unreal. It does not suggest the speaker might actually be asleep.

This section covers ようだ and ような after a verb. Verb ＋ ように, as in 死(し)んだように眠(ねむ)る, is in the ように section below.

Emphasizing a Comparison with まるで

まるで means “just like”, so close you can hardly tell the difference. It strengthens the comparison and signals that ようだ is a comparison here. For a guess, ようだ often pairs with どうやら instead. あたかも also means “just like”.

The image can be exaggerated even without まるで, as in 滝(たき)のような雨(あめ).

Describing Actions and Qualities with ように

ように turns the comparison into an adverb. It describes how an action is done, as in 子供(こども)のように泣(な)く, “cry like a child”, or a quality, as in 雪(ゆき)のように白(しろ)い, “white as snow”.

Some of these are set phrases. 飛(と)ぶように売(う)れる, literally “sell as if flying”, means that something sells fast and in large numbers.

As If with かのようだ

Adding かの before ようだ marks explicitly that the comparison isn’t true: things only look that way. かのような describes a noun, and かのように describes a verb or adjective. 何(なに)もなかったかのように話(はな)す means “talk as if nothing had happened”, when something did.

Verbs and い-adjectives use the plain form. Nouns and な-adjectives can take かのようだ directly or add である first: 女王(じょおう)であるかのようだ, “as if she were the queen”.

Related Grammar

• Likening things with 〜みたい
  • The casual equivalent for the same comparisons.
• Evidence-based guessing with 〜ようだ
  • The same forms can make a guess that might be literally true, rather than a comparison.
• Giving an example with 〜ようだ
  • ような can also point to a real example rather than a figurative one.
• As if with 〜んばかり
  • んばかり describes something that looks just about to happen.