Translation guide
How to express similarity, resemblance, or giving an example in Japanese. The main patterns are 〜みたい (mitai), 〜よう (yō), 〜っぽい (ppoi), and 〜みたいな感じ (mitai na kanji). The choice depends on formality, concreteness, and whether you are comparing or giving an example.
To say that something or someone is similar to something else in appearance, character, or behavior.
The most common casual way to say 'like N'. Attach directly to a noun. Used in everyday conversation.
彼は子供みたいだ。
He is like a child.
この味、チョコレートみたい。
This tastes like chocolate.
More formal than みたい. Used in writing and polite speech. Can also be used with な to modify nouns.
Attaches to nouns to mean '-ish' or 'like'. Often implies a negative or critical nuance, but not always. Very colloquial.
あの服、子供っぽいね。
Those clothes are childish, aren't they?
彼の冗談はいつもアメリカンジョークっぽい。
His jokes are always like American jokes.
A softer, more indirect way to say 'like N'. Often used when you're not entirely sure or want to be vague.
あの店、隠れ家みたいな感じでいいね。
That shop is nice, it's like a hideout.
To say 'for example, like...' when listing things or people.
Used before a noun to mean 'like N' as an example. Very common in casual speech.
東京みたいな大都会に住みたい。
I want to live in a big city like Tokyo.
彼みたいな人になりたい。
I want to become a person like him.
The formal equivalent of みたいな. Used in writing and formal speech.
京都のような歴史的な町を訪れたい。
I want to visit historical towns like Kyoto.
Explicitly means 'for example, like N'. とか is a particle that lists examples non-exhaustively.
例えば、犬とか猫が好きです。
For example, I like animals like dogs and cats.
To express a conjecture based on observation or hearsay. 'It seems like...'
Used after verbs and adjectives in plain form to mean 'it seems like'. Casual.
雨が降ったみたいだ。
It seems like it rained.
彼は来ないみたい。
It seems like he's not coming.
Formal version of みたい for conjecture. Often used with だ/です.
彼はもう帰ったようだ。
It seems like he already went home.
Attaches to verb stems or adjectives to mean 'tends to' or 'easily does'. Often negative.
彼は忘れっぽい。
He is forgetful (like he easily forgets).
To describe someone's behavior as resembling a certain type of person.
Used adverbially to mean 'doing something like N'. Casual.
子供みたいに泣くな。
Don't cry like a child.
彼はプロみたいに歌う。
He sings like a pro.
Formal adverbial form. Used in writing and polite speech.
彼女は花のように美しい。
She is beautiful like a flower.
Asking about the character or nature of a person or thing.
Very common casual way to ask 'What is N like?'. って is casual topic marker.
新しい先生ってどんな感じ？
What's the new teacher like?
Polite way to ask 'What kind of person is N?'.
田中さんはどんな人ですか？
What is Mr. Tanaka like?
General polite way to ask 'How is N?', can mean 'What is it like?' depending on context.
日本の生活はどうですか？
What is life in Japan like?
みたい is casual and spoken; よう is formal and written. っぽい attaches to nouns and verb stems to mean '-ish' or 'tends to', often with a negative nuance. みたい and よう can be used for both similarity and conjecture, while っぽい is more about inherent tendency.
The English word 'like' has two main meanings: similarity and preference. For similarity, use みたい/よう/っぽい. For preference, use 好き (suki). Do not confuse them. 'I like cats' is 猫が好き, not 猫みたい.