らしい ① (JLPT N4)

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)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.

Synonyms

Examples

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彼(かれ)はダイエットを続(つづ)けるらしいです。

He seems likely to continue his diet.

彼(かれ)は姉(あね)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(もとかのじょ)が婚約(こんやく)したらしいです。

I heard that your ex-girlfriend got engaged.

あの人(ひと)は会社(かいしゃ)の社長(しゃちょう)らしいよ。

I heard that he is a president of a company.

日本語(にほんご)を話(はな)せなくても、日本(にほん)に行(い)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

Pushindawood:

らしい

What’s らしい and * と聞きいた** 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!