ごとき

Freq.FrequencyTop 20,000

Meanings

auxiliary verb

usually written using kana alone

Attributive form of ごとし, used after nouns or attributive clauses to mean 'like' or 'as if'. Often found in formal or literary contexts.

Usage patterns

〈物もの〉のごとき〈物もの〉a [thing/person] like [thing/person] (formal/literary)
彼かれは天てん使しのごとき笑え顔がおを見みせた。
He showed a smile like an angel's.
〈人ひと〉のごときはas for someone like [person] (dismissive/emphatic)
私わたしのごときは、まだこの世せ界かいを語かたる資し格かくがない。
Someone like me isn't yet qualified to speak about this world.
まるで〈事こと〉かのごときas if [something were the case] (formal/literary)
彼かれはまるで何なにも知しらないかのごとき態たい度どをとった。
He acted as if he knew nothing at all.

Grammar

ごとき・ごとく・ごとしlike, as if (literary)N1

Kanji

如likeness, like, such as

Related words

ようだ sense 1
ようだ is the everyday equivalent for 'seems like/similar to', while ごとき is a formal, literary word used mainly in classical or highly formal registers.
みたいだ sense 1
みたいだ is a casual, spoken way to say 'like/similar to', in contrast to the stiff, written-style ごとき.
如ごとし sense 1
如し is the plain/terminal form used at the end of a clause ('…のごとし'), while ごとき is the attributive form used directly before a noun.

Don't confuse with

如ごとし
如し ends a sentence as a predicate, while 如き is the attributive form placed directly before a noun ('a thing like ~').

Etymology

Classical Japanese attributive form of the auxiliary adjective ごとし, which expresses similarity or likeness. The exact derivation is uncertain, but it has been used since Old Japanese.