Practice JLPTHow to tell them apart
ようだ is based on the speaker's own direct impression or observation, while らしい conveys a judgment drawn from information the speaker has heard, read, or otherwise learned rather than witnessed firsthand. Saying あの人は田中先生のようだ means the person physically resembles Tanaka; saying 田中先生はもう帰ったらしい means you heard it from someone. Swapping them feels unnatural because ようだ won't carry the hearsay nuance and らしい won't convey a direct visual likeness.
- ようだ Use ようだ when you are describing your own direct impression or visual resemblance.
- らしい Use らしい when you are reporting something you heard or read but did not witness yourself.
| Grammar point | Meaning | JLPT level |
|---|---|---|
| ようだ youda | It seems/It's like | N3 |
| らしい rashii | Seems/Apparently | N4 |
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.
ようだ and らしい are JLPT N4–N3 grammar points that Japanese learners often mix up. This page compares them side by side — meanings, usage and example sentences — so you can tell them apart.