らしい ①Seems like, Apparently, I heard

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.

• ねえ、聞(き)いた？タケシ君(くん)がキヨミちゃんにプロポーズするらしいよ。

  Hey, did you hear? It seems that Takeshi-kun is proposing to Kiyomi-chan.
• カシキさんの彼氏(かれし)はカッコいいらしいよ。

  I heard that Kashiki-san's boyfriend is handsome.
• タカギ先輩(せんぱい)がさっき言(い)っていた事(こと)は本当(ほんとう)らしいですよ。

  Apparently the thing that Takagi senpai was talking about earlier is true.
• あの人(ひと)はフランス人(じん)らしいよ。

  I heard that person is French.

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.

• 今朝(けさ)、新聞(しんぶん)で読(よ)んだんだけど、明日(あした)から雪(ゆき)が降(ふ)るらしいよ。

  I read this in the newspaper this morning, but it appears as though it is going to start snowing tomorrow.

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)の一部(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.

• あなたは本当(ほんとう)に男(おとこ)らしいね。

  You are really manly, aren't you. (You exhibit the typical qualities of a man)
• やっと１１(じゅういち)月(がつ)らしい天気(てんき)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.