Practice JLPTHow to tell them apart
The key split is your evidence source. そうだ is a visual impression from what you see or feel right now (美味しそう), ようだ judges from overall circumstances or indirect signs (そのようです), and らしい relies on hearsay or what you heard/read (難しいらしい). Swapping them sounds odd: saying 美味しいらしい for food in front of you ignores your eyes, while 美味しそうだ for a rumor you cannot see overstates direct evidence.
- そうだ Use そうだ when you are guessing based on what you directly see or feel right now.
- ようだ Use ようだ when you infer from overall circumstances or indirect signs rather than direct appearance.
- らしい Use らしい when your judgment comes from something you heard, read, or otherwise learned indirectly.
| Grammar point | Meaning | JLPT level |
|---|---|---|
| そうだ souda | Looks like/Seems | N4 |
| ようだ youda | It seems/It's like | N3 |
| らしい rashii | Seems/Apparently | N4 |
そうだ souda
Looks like/Seems
An auxiliary adjective which indicates that what is expressed by the preceding sentence is the speaker’s conjecture concerning an event in the future or the present state of someone or something, based on what the speaker sees or feels.
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あのステーキは美味しそうだった。
That steak looked delicious.
-
あの車が高そうだ・そうです。
That car looks expensive.
ようだ youda
It seems/It's like
Look like; look as if; be like; appear; seem | An auxiliary な type adjective which expresses the likelihood of something/someone or the likeness of something/someone to something/someone.
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A:石井さんはもう帰りましたか。 B:はい、そのようです。
A: Has Mr. Ishii gone home already? B: Yes, it looks like it.
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あの人は田中先生のようだ・ようです。
That person looks like Professor Tanaka.
らしい rashii
Seems/Apparently
Seem; look like; apparently; I heard | An auxiliary adjective which indicates that the preceding sentence is the speaker’s conjecture based on what he has heard, read or seen.
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あの学校の入学試験は難しいらしい。
That school's entrance exam seems difficult.
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ここは学校らしい。
This place seems to be a school.
そうだ and ようだ and らしい are JLPT N4–N3 grammar points that Japanese learners often mix up. This page compares all 3 side by side — meanings, usage and example sentences — so you can tell them apart.