Structure
Verb + みたいに + Verb(1)
Noun + みたいに + Verb(1)
Noun(2) + みたいな + Noun
(1) Adverb、［い］Adjective、［な］Adjective
(2) Verb
Details
Register
Standard
About みたいに・みたいな
As learned in our previous lesson about みたい, it is a な-Adjective. This means that it can be used in conjunction with nouns, or with verbs. In each of these cases, it will carry the meaning of 'like (A)', or 'resembling (A)'. The difference between みたい describing a verb or a noun can be identified by whether it is followed by な (describes a noun), or に (describes a verb). Let's take a look at some examples.
This difference is important to know, as (B), the thing that みたい is describing, does not always come directly after みたい.
In the second example sentence, we can see that 泳ぐ (the verb that に is linked to), does not actually come until later in the sentence. This is quite a regular occurrence, especially in longer passages.
Caution
Despite みたい meaning 'to resemble', and being based on (usually) visual stimulus, it should not be confused with 見たい 'to want to see'. This is a common mistake that learners make, as みたい itself does not have a kanji form.
Related
Examples
--:--
Get more example sentences!
Premium users get access to 12 example sentences on all Grammar Points.
私はあの女の人みたいになりたい。
I want to become like that woman.
それは城みたいな家です。
That is a castle-like house.
魚みたいに泳ぎたい。
I want to swim like a fish.
サンダルみたいに履きやすい。
They are easy to put on, just like sandals. (similar to)
お金持ちの人みたいな生活をしたい。
I want to live a life similar to a rich person.
Self-Study Sentences
Study your own way!
Add sentences and study them alongside Bunpro sentences.
Online
Noun+みたい+に & Noun+みたい+な
MaggieSensei
Offline
There are no Offline resources listed for 「みたいに・みたいな」.
You can . Resources are constantly updated, come back later to see new additions!
Track Resources!
Bunpro tracks all of the resources you’ve visited, and offers relevant bookmarks of physical books to help with offline tracking.
みたいに・みたいな – Grammar Discussion
Most Recent Replies (26 in total)
marlowe
For this example, " 上手
The grammar says that な is used before a noun but here it is に - is this because kanji drills is a suru verb and so is treated as a verb? If so, could you perhaps note something like that on the grammar page, e.g. “look out for suru verbs as it may seem that it’s simply a noun.”
gyroninja
An important distinction between みたいに and みたいな is that:
-
みたいに is (like) an adverb. It modifies either an adjective or a verb and is followed by a whole clause. If it is modifying an adjective usually the adjective directly follows みたいに, but when modifying a verb there may be other things after みたいに such as a subject or direct object for the verb.
-
みたいな is in it’s attributive form. This means it must have the noun that it is modifying immediately following it.
This might not be immediately clear by just looking at the list of structures on bunpro’s page for this grammar point. When bunpro says that something can be followed by a verb usually you are able to put more than just that verb.
This means that in your example みたいに is describing する even though it isn’t directly next to it.
Note: Even though the page for this grammar point says that みたいに can be followed by Verb/い-Adjective, I can easily find peo...
-
marlowe
Yep, that’s why I was confused when using just that grammar page - I saw afterwards, reading posts on this thread, why certain things were.
Got questions about みたいに・みたいな? Join us to discuss, ask, and learn together!
Join the Discussion