Grammar Info

N4 Lesson 4: 11/18

らしい ①Seems like, Apparently, I heard

Structure

Verb + らしい
[い]Adjective + らしい
[な]Adjective + らしい
Noun + らしい

Details

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About らしい ①

The auxiliary verb らしい is very similar to the auxiliary verbs そうだ and ようだ, in that it expresses something that the speaker 'thinks' is true. This use is known as 推定(すいてい) (presumption) in Japanese. However, despite being a presumption/assumption, らしい usually sounds relatively confident.

らしい is regularly translated as 'it seems like (A)', or 'I heard that (A)'.

To use らしい, attach it to end of any (non-polite) verb, adjective, or noun.

In these examples, らしい indicates that the speaker has some reason to believe that (A) is true. This could be that they heard, saw, or read something, but are still not 100% sure whether their understanding is correct or not. In this way, it sounds very similar to 'it appears as though (A)' in English.

Caution

There are 2 main forms of らしい in Japanese. The auxiliary verb usage mentioned above, and the 形容詞(けいようし)一部(いちぶ) (auxiliary adjective), a type of adjective that must be attached to another word for it to have any meaning usage. らしい has the meaning of something that is 'typical of (A)', when used as an auxiliary adjective.

  • あなた本当(ほんとう)(おとこ)らしい
    You are really manly, aren't you. (You exhibit the typical qualities of a man)
  • やっと11(がつ)らしい天気(てんき)になっ
    The weather is finally becoming November-like, don't you think? (Weather that is typical of November)

This い-Adjective use of らしい will be covered more in our second らしい lesson.

Synonyms

Examples

--:--

    (かれ)ダイエット(つづ)らしいです

    He seems likely to continue his diet.

    (かれ)(あね)タイプじゃないらしい

    It appears that he is not my older sister's type.

    あなた元彼女(もとかのじょ)婚約(こんやく)したらしいです

    I heard that your ex-girlfriend got engaged.

    あの(ひと)会社(かいしゃ)社長(しゃちょう)らしい

    I heard that he is a president of a company.

    日本語(にほんご)(はな)なくて日本(にほん)()けるらしい

    I heard that you can go to Japan even if you cannot speak Japanese. (It seems like you can)

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らしい ① – Grammar Discussion

Most Recent Replies (14 in total)

  • Glaciem52

    Glaciem52

    What’s らしい and * といた** as I heard ?

  • MikkaT

    MikkaT

    Hi, I’m wondering why らしい does not need any kind of だ like ようだ or そうだ.
    The よ in this example would have needed a だ after the noun as well if the らしい wasn’t there. So does らしい take the place of だ as well?

  • Fuga

    Fuga

    Hey @MikkaT !

    Since らしい could also be a auxiliary adjective, it sounds very unnatural when だ is used after it! It is similar to how using だ after い-adjectives sound unnatural.

    We hope this answers your question!

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