LEARN + JAPANESE / Note 148 JLPT N4
Just Like (ように)
ように attaches after a noun with の, or after a verb in its plain form, and means “like,” “as,” or “as if,” drawing a resemblance between two things.
Saya teaches skillfully, just like a teacher.
Takuya goes surfing like it's every day.
In Real Life
先生のように, 毎日のように, both use のように directly on a noun, “like a teacher,” “like it’s every day,” pulling in that noun as the standard being compared to. It doesn’t need to be literal, 毎日のように often just means “almost every day,” an exaggeration for emphasis.
Himeji Castle looks like a white bird resting.
Yuki looks like she's troubled.
In Real Life
ように見える, “looks as if,” pairs ように with 見える (to appear visually) for a vivid, image-based comparison, often used to describe how something looks from the outside, closely related to the visual そうだ but built with a fuller descriptive clause instead of just an adjective stem.
Vocabulary
| Japanese | English |
|---|---|
| tower | |
| candle | |
| Himeji Castle | |
| white bird | |
| century | |
| character | |
| to be troubled | |
| opera singer | |
| cake shop | |
| surfing | |
| to dance | |
| to resemble | |
| just like, as if | |
| metaphor | |
| to appear, look like | |
| characteristic | |
| model, example | |
| to imitate | |
| scene, sight | |
| to describe, depict |