みたい
mitai[mʲita̠i]
The phrase 'it looks like' in Japanese is translated as みたい (mitai).
This phrase is used to express that something seems to be a certain way based on the available evidence. You can attach みたい directly to a noun to express resemblance, such as saying something is 'dream-like' (夢みたい).
Which one should you use?
While みたい is common in conversation, ようだ is the more formal, written equivalent used to express appearance or resemblance.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
みたい is primarily used in casual, spoken Japanese. For more formal situations, you can use ～のようです or ～のように見えます, which means 'it looks like' or 'appears as'.
How does it change in a sentence?
The dictionary form of the phrase is みたいだ. To make the phrase polite, add です after みたい to get みたいです. You can change the ending to みたいな to create an adjectival form that modifies a noun directly (for example, 'a person like him'). If you change the ending to みたいに, it becomes an adverb meaning 'like' or 'in the manner of'.
How do you pronounce it?
mitai
Did you know?
- The phrase みたい is actually a contraction of the older phrase 見たよう, which literally translates to 'as if [I] had seen'.
- In casual speech, みたい is often used as a 'filler' word at the end of sentences to soften the tone and avoid sounding too assertive.
- Japanese has several words for 'looks like' that distinguish between visual evidence and an intuitive feeling, a nuance English often blends into one phrase.
Examples in context
- そうみたい。It looks like it.This sentence shows how to use みたい to agree with a statement.Tatoeba #11576335 by small_snow, translation #9167393 by megamanenm
- 結婚式みたい。It looks like a wedding.Tatoeba #10614944 by small_snow, translation #4368119 by AlanF_US
- かかしみたい。It looks like a scarecrow.Tatoeba #12823350 by small_snow, translation #12823385 by CK
- 彼は怒っているように見えます。He looks like he is angry.
- 今日は雨みたい。It looks like it will rain today.
- その映画は面白そうに見えます。That movie looks interesting.
- 37 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Misaki and Ren are looking at a dark sky during a walk.
- 美咲 Misaki空が暗いから、雨が降るみたいだね。sora ga kurai kara, ame ga furu mitai da ne.The sky is dark, so it looks like it will rain.
- 蓮 Ren本当だ。傘を持ってきてよかった。hontou da. kasa o motte kite yokatta.You're right. I'm glad I brought an umbrella.
- 美咲 Misaki蓮くんは、準備がいいね。ren-kun wa, junbi ga ii ne.Ren, you are well prepared.
- 蓮 Ren予報が当たったみたいだよ。yohou ga atatta mitai da yo.It looks like the forecast was right.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry みたい, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries みたい, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
