かの様(よう)だAs if, Just like

Both ようだ and かのようだ express appearance or resemblance, but with different nuance. ようだ means 'It seems' or 'It appears,' and can be used whether the speaker believes the thing is actually as it appears or not. かのようだ adds a stronger, often figurative tone like 'just as if (A)', and is typically used when the speaker knows it is it not actually that thing.

かのようだ and ように・ような both use よう, meaning 'seems', but have different specific uses. かのようだ carries a strong hypothetical nuance and is often used to mean 'just like' or 'as if' when comparing to obviously different things. In contrast, ように・ような expresses comparison in a more direct or neutral way and can be used whether the similarity is hypothetical or real.

These are minor variations of the same basic expression meaning 'as if it were (A)'. まるで adds an emphatic nuance, implying it's 'just like' the thing it's being compared to, e.g. まるで夢のようだ 'It's just like a dream.' If the question particle か is present, it adds a nuance of uncertainty, highlighting that though it seems like that thing, the speaker doubts it is (or knows it is not) that thing, e.g. 日本にいるかのようだ 'It's like I'm in Japan (though I'm not).'