毎(まい)～の様(よう)にAlmost every ~, Nearly every ~, On a ~ basis

Structure

毎(まい) + Time Expression + のように

Details

About まい～のように

In a similar way to のように, まい～のように states that something is happening 'in the manner/way of (A)'. まい means 'every' (coming from the kanji 毎(まい)), and will always be followed by (A). (A) being a word that expresses some kind of measurement (usually time).

まい～のように is often translated as 'almost every (A)', 'nearly every (A)', or 'on an (A) basis'.

Because よう (from the kanji 様(よう)) usually expresses the 'manner' in which something is existing/happening, this phrase literally highlights that something occurs 'in the manner of every (A)', and is therefore up to the interpretation of the listener as to whether the speaker means 'every', or 'almost every'.

Caution

Although みたいに and のように are regularly interchangeable, that is not the case with まい～のように. This is because みたいだ is originally an abbreviation of the more formal phrase を見たような, and therefore can sound unnatural when used to describe things that cannot be seen, like time.

Examples

--:--

ともきさんは仕事(しごと)前(まえ)に毎日(まいにち)のように釣(つ)りに行(い)った。

Tomoki-san went fishing almost every day before work.

仕事(しごと)を終(お)わったときは毎晩(まいばん)のようにジムに行(い)く。

I go to the gym nearly every night when I finish work.

彼女(かのじょ)は彼(かれ)に出会(であ)う前(まえ)は、毎日(まいにち)のように高校(こうこう)をサボっていた。

Before she met him, she used to skip school almost every day.

彼(かれ)はその後(あと)、故郷(ふるさと)に毎月(まいつき)のように帰(かえ)った。

After that, he returned to his hometown almost every month.

日本(にほん)では毎年(まいとし)のように少(すく)なくとも１(いっ)回(かい)は地震(じしん)が起(お)こる。

There is at least 1 earthquake in Japan nearly every year.

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- All uses of ように listed and explained
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まい～のように – Grammar Discussion

Most Recent Replies (7 in total)

Pushindawood
almost every…
nearly every…
on a ~ basis
Structure
- 毎(まい
  ) + time expression + のように
[Can be rephrased to: ほぼ + time expression, ほとんど + time expression, time expression + くらい・ぐらい]

[ Cannot be used to say “every number of months, years” like ３毎月(まいつき)のように. This expression cannot be rephrased to みたいに ]

View on Bunpro
deltacat3
In the following example sentence, why are there two は particles?

日本では毎年のように少なくとも１回は地震が起こる
There is at least 1 earthquake in Japan nearly every year.

I am only familiar with the [は Topic marking] function of this particle, which doesn’t make sense here right?
flowsnake
Probably much too late, but if anyone else wonders this: https://bunpro.jp/grammar_points/634
deltacat3
@flowsnake Its never to late! Thank you <3
MikkaT
Hi, where does the Hobo-form come from? Does it have an own grammar point?
I could only find it as alternative answer in the example.
nekoyama
ほぼ is an adverb that means “almost”.

I don’t think there’s a grammar point for it but there is a vocabulary item.
MikkaT
ah Thank you.
By the way I always wanted to ask. Where does your name come from?
From the manga or something else?
nekoyama
I like cats and mountains