〜みたい

Meaning

みたい has three main uses: (1) Making subjective judgments based on available information with a sense of uncertainty, commonly used in casual speech; (2) Expressing that something resembles or is similar to something else, often paired with まるで; (3) Giving examples or illustrations. It attaches to nouns, verbs in plain form, and can modify nouns or verbs.

Formation

Examples

1. 田中:どうして山田さんはそんなに落ち込んでるの?高橋:会議に遅れて、社長に注意されたみたいよ。
   Tanaka: Why is Yamada looking so depressed? Takahashi: He was late to the meeting and apparently got scolded by the president.

2. 山田さんは富士山みたいな高い山に登るのが好きで、休みの日はよく登山に行きます。
   Yamada likes climbing high mountains like Mt. Fuji, so he often goes mountaineering on his days off.

3. あの子猫は赤ちゃんみたいな声で鳴いている。
   That kitten is crying with a voice like a baby's.

Summary

• Use みたい to make subjective guesses or judgments when you're not entirely certain
• Use みたい to compare one thing to another similar thing, especially with まるで for emphasis
• みたい can also introduce examples or illustrate what something is like in appearance or manner