かのようだ is a set phrase in Japanese indicating that something ‘appears to be (A)’, but the speaker is not certain. It will be translated as ‘as if (A)’, or ‘just like (A)’. This is a combination of the adverbial particle か, の and the auxiliary verb 様(よう)だ ‘appearing to be’. The more literal meaning can be thought of as ‘is it not like (A)?’, due to the uncertainty expressed by か.
かのようだ may follow verbs and い-Adjectives, or な-Adjectives and nouns followed by である.
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このVRフライトゲームはものすごくリアルだ。まるで本物(ほんもの)の飛行機(ひこうき)を操縦(そうじゅう)しているかのようだ。
This VR flight game is so realistic. It is just as if I am flying an actual airplane.
なんだこの静(しず)けさは。この町(まち)には誰(だれ)もいないかのようだ。
What is this quietness? What is this quietness? It is as if there is no one in this town.
彼(かれ)はまるで私(わたし)と話(はな)すのが面倒(めんどう)であるかのようだ。
He talks to me as if it was a chore.
彼(かれ)と僕(ぼく)は兄弟(きょうだい)であるかのようだが、実(じつ)は彼(かれ)は僕(ぼく)のパートナーです。
It is as if he and I are brothers, but actually he is my partner.
When ようだ is altering the meaning of a verb or a noun later in the sentence, ように or ような may also be used.
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長谷川(はせがわ)くんのお母(かあ)さんは私(わたし)を自分(じぶん)の子供(こども)であるかのように小(ちい)さい頃(ころ)から可愛(かわい)がってくれていた。
Hasegawa-kun’s mother has taken care of me just as if I was her own child.
このスーパーに入(はい)ると、まるで母国(ぼこく)に帰(かえ)ってきたかのような感(かん)じがする。
When I enter this supermarket, I feel as if I am back in my home country.
This grammar construction will often be seen with expressions that emphasize the speaker’s assumption about (A), such as まるで. If compared to English, this merely strengthens the sentence in a similar way to the difference between ‘it’s as if (A)’, and ‘it’s just as if (A)’.