Guessing and hearsay
～みたいだ
it seems ~; looks like ~ (casual)
AI-written, reviewed by AI (ChatGPT)
How to form it
- Verb / い-adjective (plain form) + みたいだ
- な-adjective (stem) / Noun + みたいだ (no な/の)
- Modifying nouns: ～みたいな + Noun
Register: Casual spoken
Explanation
The conversational counterpart of ～ようだ, for an impression or a comparison.
It sounds natural in speech and is less suitable for formal writing. Nouns and な-adjectives attach directly.
Examples
彼は、風邪をひいたみたいだ。
かれは、かぜをひいたみたいだ。
He seems to have caught a cold.
あの人は、外国人みたいですね。
あのひとは、がいこくじんみたいですね。
That person looks like a foreigner.
今日は夏みたいに暑い。
きょうはなつみたいにあつい。
It's as hot as summer today.
Compare with
Common mistakes
- Adding の or な before みたい (子どものみたい).
- Using it in formal writing, where ～ようだ is more usual.