みたいだ details
write + seems like
kaku mitai da
seems like; looks like; like
meaning: seem to write
外はまだ雨が降っているみたいだ。
soto wa mada ame ga futteiru mitai da.
It still seems to be raining outside. neutral
今日は春みたいな天気だね。
kyou wa haru mitai na tenki da ne.
The weather today is like spring, isn't it? casual
- contraction
- past
- polite
Examples
seems; looks like — everyday spoken inference from what one sees or hears
外はまだ雨が降っているみたいです。
soto wa mada ame ga futteirumitaidesu.
It still seems to be raining outside. neutral
田中さん、もう帰ったみたいだよ。
tanaka-san, mou kaetta mitai da yo.
Looks like Tanaka already went home. casual
like; resembling — casual simile comparing one thing to another
今日は春みたいな天気だね。
kyou wa haru mitai na tenki da ne.
The weather today is like spring, isn't it? casual
Formation
{V}みたいだattaches to dictionary form{N}みたいだattaches to nounna-adj + みたいだattaches to na-adjective
Variant notes
- みたい — だ drops sentence-finally in casual speech — 外[そと]、雨[あめ]みたい。
Notes
Related patterns
Similar
The two casual "seems" — みたいだ happily builds on first-hand impressions and doubles as a simile (子供みたいだ "like a child"), while らしい implies the grounds came from elsewhere and after nouns means "true to type" (子供らしい "properly childlike").
Same inference split by register — ようだ is the written and formal-spoken form, みたいだ its everyday spoken twin; a casual chat full of ようだ sounds stiff, a report full of みたいだ sounds unedited.