Structure
Verb + らしい
［い］Adjective + らしい
［な］Adjective + らしい
Noun + らしい
Details
Register
Standard
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 (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 形容詞の一部 (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.
-
あなたは本当に男らしいね。You are really manly, aren't you. (You exhibit the typical qualities of a man)
-
やっと11月らしい天気になったね。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
らしい ②
typical of, -ish・like, appropriate for, becoming of, befitting
Not studied yet
みたいに・みたいな
Like, Similar to, Resembling
Not studied yet
そう
Look like, Appear, Seem, Have a feeling that
Not studied yet
ようだ
It seems that, It appears that, It looks like
Not studied yet
みたい
Like, Similar to, Resembling
Not studied yet
ときいた
I heard that
Not studied yet
にみえる
To look, To seem, To appear
Not studied yet
とみえる
It seems that, It can be deduced, One can conclude that
Not studied yet
そうだ
I heard that, It is said that
Not studied yet
ということだ
I heard that, Rumor has it that, It is said that, It means that
Not studied yet
的
~ly・~like・~al, Typical
Not studied yet
んだって
I heard that, He or She said that
Not studied yet
Examples
--:--
Get more example sentences!
Premium users get access to 12 example sentences on all Grammar Points.
彼はダイエットを続けるらしいです。
He seems likely to continue his diet.
彼は姉のタイプじゃないらしい。
It appears that he is not my older sister's type.
あなたの元彼女が婚約したらしいです。
I heard that your ex-girlfriend got engaged.
あの人は会社の社長らしいよ。
I heard that he is a president of a company.
日本語を話せなくても、日本に行けるらしい。
I heard that you can go to Japan even if you cannot speak Japanese. (It seems like you can)
Self-Study Sentences
Study your own way!
Add sentences and study them alongside Bunpro sentences.
Online
Difference between そうです、ようです、だろう and らしいです
BriefJapanese
Offline
Tobira
Page 143
[DBJG] A Dictionary of Basic Japanese Grammar
Page 1 & 373
Tae Kim's Japanese Grammar Guide
Page 266
[AIAIJ] An Integrated Approach to Intermediate Japanese
Page 17
Track Resources!
Bunpro tracks all of the resources you’ve visited, and offers relevant bookmarks of physical books to help with offline tracking.
らしい ① – Grammar Discussion
Most Recent Replies (14 in total)
Glaciem52
What’s らしい and * と聞いた** as I heard ?
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
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!
Got questions about らしい ①? Join us to discuss, ask, and learn together!
Join the Discussion