# ようだ vs らしい



## Xerses

What's the difference between ようだ and らしい in this context?

加藤さんは学生のようだ。　  vs.    加藤さんは学生らしい。

I want to say "Mr. Katou looks like a student/as if he were a student" and I know I cannot say 加藤さんは学生そうだ。
My book says that you have to use らしい because there is a noun BUT later the book uses this sentence:

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.

So I got lost and now I don't know if you can use らしい　and ようだ indistinctly there.

Thanks in advance to all replies!


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## kuuzoku

Hello, I think -rashii has to with observations from hearsay and not necessarily your own judgment while -youda has to do with observations learned from your own experience. There is less certainty with -rashii.

I hope native speakers post.


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## Xerses

Yep, that's what I thought!

あの人は先生らしい。 --> (From what I heard) he seems to be a teacher.


あの人は先生のようだ。 -->　(Judging from how he looks) he looks as if he were a teacher.

I would use ようだ to cover the gap of そうだ (そうだ of "observation", not the "hearsay" one).

However, notice this usage of らしい:

大木さんは男らしい。
Mr. Ôki is manly (or more literal, Mr. Ôki seems like a man).

AND this usage of らしい is what makes me wonder whether you can use it for the aforementioned sentence.


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## kuuzoku

Hi again, I just checked, when making a simile -rashii is used for something you would expect to be compared to while -youda is used for something you wouldn't expect to be compared to.

Since Oki-san is a man (I'm inferring) he would be expected to act like one. 

I hope native speakers can clear that up.


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## lrosa

Hello

らしい after a *noun* indicates possession of the qualities/traits of the noun. Hence, 男らしい means "manly" and 先生らしい means "teacher-like". 

I think what you're looking for is みたい, which means "looks like (in appearance). 加藤さんは学生みたいだ = "Katoh-san looks like a (?) teacher" (I'm not a native of Japanese, so I'm wondering if this use of みたい can refer to all teachers in general (in which case "*a* teacher" is used in English) as well as a specific teacher ("*the* teacher"))


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## Xerses

lrosa said:


> Hello
> 
> らしい after a *noun* indicates possession of the qualities/traits of the noun. Hence, 男らしい means "manly" and 先生らしい means "teacher-like".
> 
> I think what you're looking for is みたい, which means "looks like (in appearance). 加藤さんは学生みたいだ = "Katoh-san looks like a (?) teacher" (I'm not a native of Japanese, so I'm wondering if this use of みたい can refer to all teachers in general (in which case "*a* teacher" is used in English) as well as a specific teacher ("*the* teacher"))



Yep, it's true, らしい doesn't seem to fit in there in spite of what my book says.

So for now みたい and ようだ are the ones that seem to fit in this context. At least until a native speaker says the opposite!


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## mikun

Hi,
Though I have not cheked by dictionnary yet, There are at least 2 using style in 'らしい’word as irosa and xerses mentioned.
1st style: Use it as 'appropriate', 'typical' or 'true' meaning. For example,
政治家らしい政治家だ: He is a true statesman.  男らしく行動しろ: Act as typical man do.
2nd style:　Use it as 'seems to be' or 'feels' meaning. For example,
伊豆で地震があったらしい。：There seems to have been an earthquake in izu area,
向こうから来るのはirosa さんらしい。：The beutiful girl comes to me seems to be irosa.
今日は体温が上がっているらしい。： I feel my body temperature is raising up today.
When you are using 2nd style, you can substitute 'らしい' word to 'ようだ', 'みたいだ' word, but if it is 1st style, you caanot change 'らしい' word to 'ようだ' or 'みたいだ'.


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## Xerses

mikun said:


> 向こうから来るのはirosa さんらしい。：The beutiful girl comes to me seems to be irosa.



Hahahaha, I just love that sentence!

Right... Mikun, let's imagine that we're walking on the street and I see a person that is dressing like a teacher, so he seems to be a teacher by the way he looks. Can I tell you:

あの人は先生らしい。

or is it better if I tell you: あの人は先生(みたいだ/ようだ)。

??

Thanksss!


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## lrosa

mikun said:


> 向こうから来るのはirosa さんらしい。：The beutiful girl comes to me seems to be irosa.



I'm not a girl!!


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## Taro Ultra

Hello, everyone,



> Right... Mikun, let's imagine that we're walking on the street and I see a person that is dressing like a teacher, so he seems to be a teacher by the way he looks. Can I tell you:
> 
> あの人は先生らしい。
> 
> or is it better if I tell you: あの人は先生(みたいだ/ようだ)。


I think, 'らしい' is used in two usage: 1st, 'typical', and 2nd, 'seem', as mentioned by mikun-san.

So if you want to say 'The man coming has typical style as a teacher.',
you should use あの人は先生らしい。or あの人は先生らしい格好をしている.

If you want to say 'The man coming seems to be teacher judging from his style.' , 
you can use both らしい and ようだ／みたいだ.
あの人の格好から判断して、あの人は先生らしい。
あの人の格好から判断して、あの人は先生のようだ。
あの人の格好から判断して、あの人は先生みたいだ。
These sentences has a function of inference.

In addition, I feel, みたい／ようだ has another function of meaning, 'likely'.
あの人の格好はまるで先生みたいだ。
I feel the style of a man coming is like a teacher. (Is this english correct?)
And maybe the speaker knows the fact that man is not a teacher.
I think this function is not furnished in らしい

どうもIrosaさんは男性のようですよ。みたいですよ。(らしいですよ。)
In this case, you can use ようだ、みたい、らしい , however, ようだ／みたいだ are preferable.


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## Dheara

what I learned at school:
1. ようだ = it seems that~
implies Reasonig, Judgment
        - it is a conclusion after evaluating much a situation based on something i heard from a realiable sorce, first-hand information - it is certainly true information
        - a conclusion based on my own knowledge
        - a conclusion based on what I see
-in general, it implies more Judgment/Reasoning, more use of your own brain to draw a conclusion

a) あの人が来るようだ。It seems that guy will come (I've been told by my mother, or I see him, or he told me himself)
b)　みんな忙しいようだ。It seems everybody is busy (the secretary told me, or I see them working hard)
c). あそこはいい病院のようだ。(It seems there is a good hospital there- I've been told by mother, or I was there )

2. みたいだ　- is the colloquial version of ようだ

3.　らしい - what I say is based on an information from a more reliable source than そうだ and less reliable than ようだ
　　　-you draw a conclusion by suppositions-conjecture, based on what you heard, read, or saw
      - if it is a heard information about an official event、it means is not a first-hand one if I tell it using らしい

入り口に誰かが来たらしい。ノックの音がする。(I hear someone knocking at the door, so I conclude somebody has come at the door)

みんな忙しいらしい。夜遅くまで仕事をしている（から）。(I see people going back to their homes very late, so I suppose they are very busy)

あそこはいい病院らしい。いつも混んでいる。（I see it is crowded all the time, so I suppose they have good quality services)

らしい 2:
Noun らしい: changes the Noun into an Adjective, expressing a typical characteristic : 男らしいmanly、子供らしいchildly

4.　そうだ　１ = I have the impression that~ 
→ aspectual そうだ - my own impression, the degree of certainty is very low。
    - it is my very own impression based on what I see, or feel and I don't evaluate the situation before saying, is an impression of the moment

雨が降りそうだ。(I say　after looking at the sky and noticing many clouds)
このビールはおいしそうだ。(I see it in front of me, on the table and this is my impression - I have no information to support this utterance)  

そうだ　2 - it seems that~; I heard that~
→　just passing/handing over information -I say something I've been told, and I'm not sure if it's true or not, but it might be- in many cases, I don't know where the information came from, it might be gossip or made-up story, but also the weather forecasting
- many times used in combination with ～によって(according to) in order to clarify the fact that you are are just passing an information

天気予報によって雨が降るそうだ。According to the weather forcast, it seems that it  is going to rain.
このビールはおいしいそうだ。 It seems/ I've heard that beer is (not based on my impression)

試験はむずしかったようだ。	It seems that the exam was difficult (I've heard from my classmate, I wasn't in the classroom)	
試験はむずしかったらしい。 It seems that............................... (I am on the corridor, and I see the students getting out of the classroom, and they look very pale and depressed)	

田中さんは、女のような人です。	Tanaka is just like a woman. (if Tanaka is a man)
田中さんは、女らしい人です。Tanaka is so feminine. (If T. is a woman)

夏のような日です。 This day is like a summer day. (but it's not summer, we are in March, April or September...)
夏らしい日です。 This day is a typical summer day. (we can say it only if it is really summer)

Anyway, neither そうだ１、nor そうだ2 imply judgment/reasoning- that makes them very different from ようだ and らしい１．
souda 1 is spontaneous, our momentary impression, and souda 2 is just saying what what we've been told.

この本は高いらしい。(from what I've heard/read- involves conjecture)
この本は高そうだ。(It seems to me the book is expensive- I look at it and my first thought is: "this is expensive))
この本は高いようだ。(Considering the price of/comparing it to other books)

あの人は先生らしい。(from what I've heard/read)
*............. そうだ。(ungrammatical)
............　　のようだ。(Involves judgment, reasoning- I look well at him and I conclude)


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