Grammar Info
N4 Lesson 4: 9/18

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

Structure
+ Time Expression + のように
Details
Register Standard
使用域 一般
Information
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’.
  • 毎(まい)日(にち)のようにポテトチップス食(た)べてるから太(ふと)ってき
    Because I eat potato chips almost everyday, I am starting to gain weight.
  • 渋谷(しぶや)毎(まい)週(しゅう)のように行(い)っている
    I go to Shibuya almost every week.
  • 彼(かれ)八月(はちがつ)になる毎(まい)年(とし)のように平和記念資料館(へいわきねんしりょうかん)へ行(い)く
    When August comes, he goes to the peace memorial museum almost every year.
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 見たような, and therefore can sound unnatural when used to describe things that cannot be seen, like time.
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彼女(かのじょ)彼(かれ)出会(であ)前(まえ)毎(まい)日(にち)のように高校(こうこう)サボっていた
Before she met him, she used to skip school almost every day.
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彼(かれ)その後(あと)、故郷(ふるさと) 毎(まい)月(つき)のように帰(かえ)った
After that, he returned to his hometown almost every month.
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日本(にほん) 毎(まい)年(とし)のように少(すく)なくとも1回(かい)地震(じしん)起(お)こる。
There is at least 1 earthquake in Japan nearly every year.
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