にみえるTo look, To seem, To appear

にみえる and みたい both express that something 'seems' a certain way, but with different nuance. にみえる specifically refers to visual appearance, e.g. 'looks like', and can be used with そうだ or ようだ. みたい means 'is like' or 'seems like' more in a more general sense, not necessarily related to appearance, and is more casual than にみえる.

Both ようだ and に見える express observations, but differ in nuance. ようだ means 'appears to be' based on various cues, e.g. 虫のようだ ('It seems to be an insect.', based on looks, behavior, or context). に見える focuses specifically on visual appearance, e.g. 虫に見える ('It looks like an insect.'), without implying that the speaker thinks it actually is one.

がする and にみえる (often written in kanji as に見える) both describe sensations, but differ in usage. がする is used with sensory words, e.g. 音がする 'I hear', 匂いがする 'I smell', and 味がする 'I taste' (literally, 'It gives off a sound/smell/taste.'). に見える specifically describes visual sensations and means 'looks like', e.g. 石に見える ('It looks like a rock.'), without implying that it is the thing it visually resembles.

Both そうに・そうな and にみえる express appearance, but with different nuances. そうに・そうな conveys a subjective impression of a state, e.g. 優しそうな目 'kind-seeming eyes', or an event about to happen, e.g. 雨が降りそうな天気 'weather that seems like it's about to rain'. にみえる, used with そう or alone, e.g. 優しそうにみえる ('He/she seems kind.') or 虫にみえる ('It looks like a bug.'), specifically emphasizes visual appearance.

Both らしい ① and にみえる can convey observations, but with different nuances. らしい ① implies hearsay or information from a third-party source, e.g. 雨が降るらしい ('Apparently it's going to rain.'). In contrast, にみえる expresses a direct visual observation, e.g. 雨が降るようにみえる ('It looks like it's going to rain.', based on visual cues like the sky).

Both のように・のような and にみえる express how something 'appears,' but with different nuances. のように・のような is used for comparisons and connects to nouns or the rest of the sentence, e.g. 春のような天気 'spring-like weather'. にみえる specifically refers to visual appearance and can be used alone, e.g. その虫は葉っぱに見える ('That bug looks like a leaf.').

ように・ような and にみえる can both describe similarities in appearance, but differ in usage. ように・ような follows the plain form of a verb or adjective and expresses general similarity. にみえる follows a noun or な-adjective (note: よう functions as a な-adjective) and means 'looks like'. The two can be used together, for example, 台風が来たように見える ('It looks as if a typhoon had come.').

にみえる describes appearance based on what's visually perceived, e.g. 暑そうにみえる ('It looks hot.'). とみえる is used for logical inference based on context, as in 暑いとみえる ('It must be hot', e.g. if everyone's taking off their coats). The latter is less about sight, and more about reasoning.

にみえる and そう both express that something 'seems' a certain way, but with different nuance. にみえる specifically refers to visual appearance and can be combined with そう, e.g. 面白そうにみえる ('It looks interesting.'). そう alone expresses general impression and doesn't necessarily rely on visual cues, e.g. 面白そう ('It seems interesting.'), which could be based on hearing about it, etc.