How to use 〜よう ( = ~ you)

「みんながわかるようにがんばって教えます!」

= Minna ga wakaru you ni ganbatte oshiemasu!

= I will do my best and teach you so that everybody can understand.

無断転載禁止(All rights reserved)

Hi everyone!

This lesson is for my Twitter/Facebook friend Brian. 

He recently asked me on Facebook how to use よう ( = you). I hope other people can learn from this lesson as well.

I briefly explained   ように&ような ( = youni & youna) in a Mini Lesson before in the past. (Currently, you can’t see my mini lessons. I will repost them one by one in future.)

So first let’s review then we’ll study some of the other usages of よう ( = you) in today’s lesson.

Are we ready?

***************************

⭐️ ような ( = youna) + noun

A (noun/ person) + の ( = no) + ような ( = no you na) + B  (noun / person)

= B  (noun/ person) like A  (noun / person)

Ex. マギーのような先生 = Maggie no you na sensei = a teacher like Maggie

Ex. 夢のような生活 = yume no you na seikatsu = a dreamy life

Ex. 嘘のような話 = uso no you na hanashi = an almost unbelievable story

Ex. そこはまるでおとぎ話のような世界だった。

= Soko wa marude otogibanashi no youna sekai datta.

= It was like a fairy tale world.

:rrrr: Note: まるで  ( = marude) is often used with よう( = you) to add the meaning of “just“/ “as if

to modify a noun: 

 (verb / adjective* →see the note below) + ような  ( = you na) + B (noun / person)

= B  (noun/person) which looks /seems (like)  A 

(A  modifies  B)

Ex. 疲れたような顔をしている

= tsukareta you na kao wo shiteiru.

= to have a tired face

Ex. 気が遠くなるような仕事

= Kiga tooku naru youna shigoto

= mind-boggling work/assignment

Ex. マギーはまるで誰かに恋をしたようをしていた。

= Maggie wa marude dareka ni koi wo shita you na me wo shiteita.

= Maggie had the look in her eyes of someone who had fallen in love with someone.

Ex. 彼は私が想像していたようではなかった。

= Kare wa watashi ga souzou shiteita you na hito dewa nakatta.

= He was not who I had imagined he would be.

Ex. 彼女も一緒に来たいようをしていた。

= Kanojo mo issho ni kitai you na kao wo shiteita.

= She looked like she wanted to come with me.

 

Ex. 彼が言っていたようことは決して起こらないだろう。
 
= Kare ga itte ita youna koto wa kesshite okoranai darou.
 
= Nothing like the things he was talking about will never happen.
 
Ex. お父さんが心配しているようことにはなりません。
 
= Otousan ga shinpai shiteiru youna koto ni wa narimasen.
 
= Dad, what you’re worried about will never happen.
 
Note:  When you use  adjective* + よう ( = you na) + noun/person

 

Ex. マギーは、今日、なんか忙しいようことを言っていたよ。

= Maggie wa kyou, nanka isogashii  youna koto wo itte itayo.

= Maggie said something like she was busy today.

In this sentence, you see よう ( = you na) right after an adjective, 忙しい ( = isogashii) busy  because is a part of a quote.
 
I was saying 「今日は忙しい ( = Kyou wa isogashii )  “I am busy todayand the speaker was quoting what I said before. 
 
You don’t say 
 
X 彼は優しいような人です。
 
= Kare wa yasashii you na hito desu.
 
= He seems to be a sweet person.
 
You say, 
 
:rrrr: 彼は優しそうです。
 
= Kare wa yasashisou desu.
 
= He looks sweet. / He seems to be a sweet person.
 
But you can use adjective + よう  ( = youna) if it is part of a quote. 
 
Ex. 彼は子供には優しいようなことを聞いたことがある。
 
= Kare wa kodomo ni wa yasashii you na koto wo kiita koto ga aru.
 
= I have heard he is sweet to children. 
 
quoting 「彼は子供には優しい」= “Kare wa kodomo ni wa yasashii” 
 

or

Ex. 彼の方が私より優しいよう気がする。

= Kare no hou ga watashi yori yasashii you na ki ga suru.

= I feel like he is sweeter than I am. 

:rrrr: 私は < 彼の方が私より優しい> (という) ような気がする。

= Watashi wa <kare no hou ga watashi yori yasashii> (to iu) you na ki ga suru.

 

time related words + の  ( = no) + ような  ( = no you na) + (noun / person)
 
 
Ex. 去年のような失敗はしたくない。

= Kyonen no youna shippai wa shitakunai.

= I don’t want to make the mistakes that I made last year.

Ex. 体力は10年前のようなわけにはいかない。

= Tairyoku wa juunen mae no you na wake ni wa ikanai.

= My physical strength is not as good as it was 10 years ago.

⭐️  ように ( = no youni) + verb

 

A (noun/ person) + の ( = no) + ように ( = no you ni) + verb

= to do something / to be + like  (someone/something)
 
 

Ex. マギーのように教える

= Maggie no you ni oshieru

= to teach like Maggie

Ex. 恋愛は映画のようにはうまくいかない。

= Renai wa eiga no you niwa umaku ikanai.

= Relationships don’t work out like they do in the movies.

Ex. 彼女はまるで歌うように話す。
 
= Kanojo wa maru de utau you ni hanasu.
 
She talks as if singing.

 

★〜よう+ 見える ( = mieru) / 思える ( = omoeru) / 聞こえる( = kikoeru) / 感じる  ( = kanjiru)
 
= It looks/seems/sounds/feels+ like 〜
 
 
Ex. 彼は私があわてているのを楽しんでいるように見えた。
 
= Kare wa watashi ga awatete iru no wo tanoshin de iru you ni mieta.
 
= He seemed to be enjoying my being upset.
 
Ex. 彼と話すといつも批判されているように思える。
 
= Kare to hanasu to itsumo hihan sarete iru you ni omoeru.

= Whenever I talk to him, I feel like he is criticizing me.

Ex. 無視されているように感じる

= Mushi sarete iru you ni kanjiru
 
= I feel like I have been ignored.
 
Ex. 馬鹿にしているように聞こえる。
 
= Bakani shiteiru you ni kikoeru.
 
= It sounds condescending., It sounds like you’re making fun.
 
 

noun + の ( = no) + ように  ( = youni) +  adjective =  (adjective) like  (noun)

Ex. 彼女は氷のように冷たい

= Kanojo wa koori no you ni tsumetai

= She is cold like ice.

Ex. 彼は、ガラスのように繊細な心を持っている。

= Kare wa garasu no you ni sensai na kokoro wo motte iru.

= His heart is as fragile as a glass.

Ex. マギーのようにきれいになりたい。

= Maggie no you ni kirei ni naritai.

= I want to be as beautiful as Maggie.

(From Maggie : がんばって!= Ganbatte = Good luck! ) :)

Clause (Subject A+ verb) + ように  ( = no you ni) + to do something

= to do something as A does/did

Ex. マギー先生が言ったようにもっと漢字の勉強すればよかった。

=Maggie sensei ga itta you ni motto kanji no benkyou wo sureba yokatta.

= I should have listened to Maggie Sensei and studied more kanji.

Ex. 自分が思ったようにやればいい。
 
= Jibun ga omotta you ni yareba ii.
 
= Just do what you believe/think.
 

******************

:mm: Now let’s learn other usages of  よう ( = you) besides  the meaning of “as/like” today.

1) ように ( = youni) = to do something ~  in order to do ~ / so that ~ / in such a way ~

(to intend to make things work as you hope)

verb (→the result you hope, your goal/non-volitional verbverb potential form )  ように ( =  youni) + verb (what to do/what you did/ to hope, to wish)

:rrrr: Negative form :

verb negative form = ~ない  = ~nai) (the result you want to avoid) + ように ( = nai youni)+ verb (what to do/what you did/ to hope, to wish)

Ex. もっとわかるように話してください。

= Motto wakarru you ni hanashite kudasai.

= Please talk more clearly so that I can understand you.

Ex. マギー先生に怒られないように宿題をしないと…

= Maggie sensei ni okorarenai you ni shukudai wo shinaito…

= I have to do my homework so that Maggie Sensei won’t get mad at me.

 

Ex. 明日は、遅刻しないように早く起きよう。

= Ashita wa chikoku shinai you ni hayaku okiyou.

I don’t want to be late tomorrow so I’m going to get up early.

Ex. 夜、安心して歩けるように街灯を増やして欲しい。

= Yoru anshin shite arukeru you ni gaitou wo fuyashite hoshii.

= I hope they increase the number of street lights so that we feel safe walking on the street at night.

Ex. 将来困らないように貯金をしなくてはいけない。

= Shourai komaranai you ni chokin wo shinakute wa ikenai.

I have to save money for a rainy day.

★When you wish for something :

You often omit the verb such as 祈っています( = inotte imasu )= to pray or 願っています  ( = negatte imasu.)= to hope/to wish and end it with よう ( = you ni)

 

Ex. 父の病気が早く治りますように。

= Chichi no byouki ga hayaku naorimasu you ni.

= I hope my father gets well soon.

Ex. 明日がいいお天気になりますように。

= Ashita ga ii otenki ni narimasu you ni.

= I hope the weather is nice tomorrow.

Ex. いい一年でありますように。

= Ii ichinen de arimasu you ni.

= I hope this new year will be a good one.

Ex. これ以上、災害が広がりませんよう

= Kore ijou saigai ga hirogarimasen youni.

= I hope the disaster area won’t spread.

★When you warn someone to do something or give someone an order.

(Note : Sometimes you don’t finish the sentence and leave the sentence with ように ( = youni).)

 

Ex. 帰ってくるまでに仕事を終えておくように(して下さい。*/ しなさい。)

= Kaette kurumade ni shigoto wo oete oku you ni (shite kudasai/ shinasai)!

=(*Please)  Finish the work by the time I come back.

Ex. 犬が逃げないように門を閉めておいて(ね)。

= Inu ga nigenai you ni mon wo shimete oite (ne).

= Please close the gate so that the dog won’t escape.

Ex. ひったくりにあわないように気をつけて(ね)。

= Hittakuri ni awanai you ni kiwotukete (ne).

= Watch out for purse snatchers. (Be careful not to your purse  get snatched.)

Ex. 風邪をひかないように(ね)。

= Kaze wo hikanai youni (ne)

= Don’t catch a cold.

(Note: ね ( = ne) ending adds friendliness and softness. It is mostly used by women but some men do use this suffix.)

Ex. マギーに見つからないように。

= Maggie ni mitsukaranai you ni

= Be careful not to be seen/spotted by Maggie.

Ex. 車は危ないからバスでここまで来るように言われました。

= Kuruma wa abunai kara basu de kokomade kuru you ni iwaremashita.

= I was told to come here by bus because driving a car is dangerous.

Ex. 塩と砂糖を間違えないように(して下さい。)

= Shio to satou wo machigaenai you ni (shite kudasai).

= (Please) Do not mistake salt for sugar.

Ex. 飲み過ぎないように(気をつけて(ね)。)

= Nomisuginai you ni (ki wo tsukete (ne))

= Don’t drink too much!

Ex. 風邪をひかないように(気をつけて(ね)。)

= Kaze wo hikanai you ni (ki wo tsukete ne)

= Be careful not to catch a cold.

Ex. まだ熱いから触らないように(して下さい。)

= Mada atsui kara sawaranai you ni (shite kudasai.)

= It’s still hot so do not touch it.

Ex. 2、3日安静にしているように(してください。*

= Ni san nichi ansei ni shiteiru you ni (shite kudasai.*)

= (Please*) Keep quiet in bed for a couple of days.

2)ようになる =  you ni naru)  = to become~, it has  come to the point,  to grow, finally to be able to do something, to be available

(It implies gradual change. The result could be either positive or negative)

Ex. とうとう運転できるようになりました。

= Toutou unten dekiru you ni narimashita.

= I am finally able to drive a car.

Ex.30歳になってやっと親の気持がわかるようになった。

= Sanjussai ni natte yatto oya no kimochi ga wakaru you ni natta.

= Now that I am 30 years old, I have finally come to understand my parents’ feelings.

Ex. 最近、納豆が美味しいと思えるようになった。

= Saikin nattou ga oishii to omoeru you ni natta.

= I have come to like Natto recently.

Ex. いつになったら日本語がきちんと話せるようになるんだろう。

= Itsu ni nattara nihongo ga kichin to hanaseru you ni narun darou.

= I wonder when I will be able to speak Japanese properly.

Ex. 日本語のニュースが理解できるようになりたい。

= Nihongo no nyuusu ga rikai dekiru you ni naritai

= I would like to be able to understand the news in Japanese.

Ex. 彼女に好かれるようになりたい。

= Kanojo ni sukareru you ninaritai.

= I want her to like me.

3) ようだ  ( = youda) / ようです ( =  you desu)

= to be like, it looks like, to look as if, it seems like, it appears to be,

It is used to express the likelihood of something / some events

Ex. その件については彼が上司に直接話したようだ。

= Sono ken ni tsuite wa kare ga joushi ni chokusetsu hanashita you da.

= It seems like he told his boss about the matter directly.

Ex. あそこで火事があったようだ。

= Asoko de kaji ga atta youda.

= It seems like there was a fire over there.

Ex.ガソリンが来月から値上がりするようだ。

= Gasorin ga raigetsu kara neagari suru you da.

= It looks like the price of gas will go up from next month.

Ex. 彼はかなり緊張しているようだ。

= Kare wa kanari kinchou shiteiru youda.

= He looks very nervous.

Ex. 母は私が大学に受かったのが本当にうれしいようだった。

= Haha wa watashi ga daigaku ni ukatta no ga hontou ni ureshii you datta.

= My mother looked really happy that I passed the university.

Note: You can also use

みたい ( = mitai) instead of  よう ( = you) above.

みたい ( = mitai) sounds more casual.

There are also similar words, ~らしい  (= ~rashii) and 〜そう( = sou)

I won’t refer to the difference in this lesson but if you are interested in these, go check my lessons :

→ ~らしい ( = rashii) Go check  らしい lesson

→〜みたい ( = mitai) Co check みたい lesson

マギー先生より= Maggie Sensei yori = From Maggie Sensei

どうですか?わかったような気がしてきましたか?

= Doudesuka? Wakatta youna kiga shite kimashitaka?

= How’s that? Do you feel like you understand?

しっかり理解できるようにもう一度レッスンを読んでね。

=Shikkari rikai dekiru you ni mouichido ressun wo yondene.

= Please read the lesson one more time so that you will be able to understand it fully.

⭐️Special Note: For French speakers: This lesson is translated into French by Marianne.

Go check the translation  here.

Merci, Marianne! boucingheart! 

***

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372 Comments

  1. Hello Maggie, me again (⁄ ⁄•⁄ω⁄•⁄ ⁄)

    My question is about the よう (hence the lesson) in this sentence:
    「文芸部に入部するようお前が説得してくれて本当に良かったと思ってるんだ」
    “I’m really happy that you convinced me to join the club.”

    Your lesson mentions the use of よう〜 (ような or ように) but not よう alone. I thought maybe it was some kind of contraction in casual speech but even the notion of similarity (as, like) of よう does not appear here is not obvious to me. “You convinced me like to join the club” makes no sense. So what is the purpose of よう here?

    ありがとう!!!

    1. Hi Gaspatcher
      This よう belongs to the usage
      →the other usages of よう ( = you) besides the meaning of “as/like”

      (From my lesson)
      1) ように ( = youni) = to do something ~ in order to do ~ / so that ~ / in such a way ~
      (to intend to make things work as you hope)

      ★verb (→the result you hope, your goal/non-volitional verb/ verb potential form ) ように ( = youni) + verb (what to do/what you did/ to hope, to wish)
      ⬇️
      Your sentence 文芸部に入部するよう means “to join the literary club” with the purpose or intention of doing so. It describes the result or goal that “you” (the listener or someone mentioned in the conversation) hoped or intended to achieve thinking of the speaker.

      And, Yes, in casual conversation, you can omit に and just say よう in this usage.

      ****
      And thank you so much for the ☕️s!! ❤️

  2. Hello Maggie,

    I have a really hard time to understand the structure of this sentence:
    「完璧に無価値なわたしがやるようなことなんて何もないもん」

    I understand that:
    – 完璧に is an adverb with に modifying a な-adjective: perfectly
    – 無価値な is a noun becoming an adjective with the な-particle: worthlessness -> worthless
    – やるようなことなんて何もない: ような modifies ことなんて何もない with なんて emphasizing the negative sentence
    – もん gives a childish way of expressing her feelings

    So I see many different translations, which is the correct one:
    “There’s absolutely nothing to do, for someone as perfectly worthless as me.”
    “There’s absolutely nothing, someone as perfectly worthless as me, could do.”
    “There’s absolutely no way there’s anything someone as perfectly worthless as I am could do, right?”

    If you need context, she says before
    「なんで毎朝学校に遅刻してるか分かる?」- Do you know why I’m (always) late to school every morning?
    「いつも、ベッドから起き上がる理由を見つけられないから」- Because, every time, I can’t find a reason to get out of bed.
    「完璧に無価値なわたしがやるようなことなんて何もないもん」- ???

    Thank you sensei!

    1. Hi, Gaspatcher

      I think the first one is the closest translation for the sentence.
      If you interpret やること as something you could do then the second translation works too.

      1. Thank you Maggie <3

        So that was my main problem, the やる can be applied either to the "nothing", or to the "I"? "nothing to do" "nothing I can do"

        So does that mean this sentence is ambiguous so we can understand both meanings?

        1. The nuance difference is
          やることがない  can be translated “There is nothing to do” , “There is nothing I could do.” , “There is nothing I want to do” ,etc.
          Since the subject has a description, 完璧に無価値な, so judging from the context, I think “There is nothing I could do.” may sound more natural.

  3. Hi!
    I was wondering, in these song lyrics, what is the purpose of ような?
    ねぇ どっかに置いてきたような
    事が一つ二つ浮いているけど
    I know that song lyrics can be very poetic and bend normal linguistic rules, but I’m really struggling to understand what it means. From my understanding this means “Wherever you left it/those things behind, it/they are resurfacing one by one” but my japanese isn’t very good so I could definitely be misunderstanding the whole sentence lol.
    Thanks!

    1. Hi Sara

      This ような modifies 事(こと)
      どっかに置いてきたようなこと (things that I left behind somewhere) = subject
      一つ二つ A few (A couple of ) + どっかに置いてきたようなこと (things that I left behind somewhere) will be the subject
      And the main verb 浮いている (the literal meaning is “floating/resurfacing” but this is a very literal/poetic expressions.

  4. Hello Maggie-sensei,

    You said in your lesson that 〜ように+ 見える = it looks like〜
    How about the following construction where ように is after 見える and there is also the は particle? Why?

    そんなふうには 見えない あきらめるようには

    Can this は be dropped?
    I would translate this as: “It doesn’t seem that way, for you to give up”. Is it correct?

    Thank you a lot Sensei!

    1. Hello Gaspatcher

      OK, when you use the negative form of ようにみえる, you often add the particle は to emphasize.
      そんなふうにはみえない
      But yes, you can drop は
      →そんなふうにみえない

      そんなふうには 見えない あきらめるようには
      Yes, your translation is correct. This is a literal expression
      Instead of just saying あきらめるようには見えない, you say そんなふうには見えない to intrigue the curiosity of the readers or listeners.

  5. Hello Maggie-sensei 😁,
    I have a quick question about ように expressing a request. I study N3 grammar with the book 新完全マスター日本語能力試験. In the book it is written that to express a request or a demand we can use よう, ように or ようにと but it is not specified if there is a difference between the 3 options or if they are similar 🤔. Here are the examples given with each option;

    – 今週中にご返信くださいますよう、お願い申し上げます。

    – 雑誌を買ってくるように頼まれた。

    – 電車の中では携帯電話で話さないようにと注意された。

    If you could enlighten me please 😅. Thank you in advance 😊.

    1. Hello Aurore

      Technically they are the same and interchangeable but

      1) 今週中にご返信くださいますよう、お願い申し上げます。

      Vますよう、お願いします・お願いいたします・お願い申し上げます (Formal)
      Though よう is more common, you can also say Vようにお願いします
      The difference is subtle. に adds emphasis of the favor so it sounds slightly stronger.

      You can’t use ようにとお願いします because と is to quote what someone said and 〜お願いします is one’s direct request.

      2) 雑誌を買ってくるように頼まれた。
      You can also say よう and ようにと
      Again, に adds more emphasis and と is to quote what someone told you.

      3)話さないようにと注意された。
      You can also say 話さないよう
      In this case ようにと is more natural than 話さないように because it is quoting what someone told you.

      1. Oooh ok, it’s much clearer to me now😁. Thank you very much for taking the time to explain these grammatical nuances to me 😊🙇🏼‍♀️

  6. Hi Maggie! I know this lesson it’s not about this but is it true that 「よう」also means “Hello/Hi”? I mean in real life, not dramas or anime…
    Say “Hello” in a casual way is kind of difficult in japanese I think 🤔😂

    1. Hola David,
      よう is a rough casual male speech and it is like “ YO!” / Hey” /sup? = “What’s up?” in English.
      A short form is just よっ! This sounds slightly cuter.
      Not just a casual greeting but you also use よう/ようよう (Hey! Listen to me!) when you threaten people, too.
      Either way, it sound rough so I rarely hear that in real life but I guess it depends on your circumstances. 😆

  7. マギー先生、こんにちは。
    先生 お願いがあるんですが、教えていただけませんか。
    Vる ように なります・なりました。
    もし 「Vない」だったら、それは いいですか。
    例:おじいさんは 小さい字が読めないように なりました。マギー先生、こんにちは。
    先生 お願いがあるんですが、教えていただけませんか。
    Vる ように なります・なりました。
    もし 「Vない」だったら、それは いいですか。
    例:おじいさんは 小さい字が読めないように なりました。
    先生 どうもありがとうございます。

    1. こんにちは Ha Thao,
      「Vない」は、
      Vないようになった・Vないようになりました

      「おじいさんは 小さい字が読めないように なりました。」 でもいいのですが、「読めなくなりました」の方がよく使われると思います。

      1. マギー先生、こんばんは。
        はい、わかりました。どうもありがとうございました。

    1. Hi Milk

      It is not a common expression (maybe this describes how a heavy metal singer shouts?) but this ように is “like” (shout like biting (someone))

  8. Hello Maggie-sensei,
    Does this

    1) ように ( = youni) = to do something ~ in order to do ~ / so that ~ / in such a way ~

    only applies to you ni? not with you na?

    いつか妹にも認めてもらえるような絵画が作れるようになればいいな。
    It’d be great if he can make a painting that his sister will someday also be able to also approve of his decision?

    And this 作れるようになればいい is a form of you ni naru, right?

    Sorry to trouble you..

    1. Hello Niko

      So basically ように modifies a verb and ような  modifies a noun.

      いつか妹にも認めてもらえるような絵画が作れるようになればいいな。
      In this case it modifies 絵画 “painting” so it has to be ような

      If you use ように in this sentence, you have to change it a little like this.

      作れるようになればいい: Yes, you are right. It is a form of ようになる

      いつか妹に認めてもらえるように絵を描き続けていきたい。

      ように modifies a verb, 描き続けていきたい want to keep drawing

      1. なるほど
        I see, I was quite confused with the sentence, so I thought that the writer made a mistake or something

        ‘ように modifies a verb and ような  modifies a noun’
        I’ll keep that in mind, and hopefully not forget about it www

        どうもありがとうございます!!

        1. No problem.
          You may sometime get confused when you read a long complicated sentence but please remember the rule.
          But if you ever get confused again, I am always here for you. 😉

  9. こんにちはMaggie先生

    この前「よう」を含む文を見つけました。しかし、「ように」にかえってただで「よう」と書かれているのは分かりません。下記の通りです。

    「何卒ご理解・ご了承賜りますようお願い申し上げます。」

    何で「ようにお願い」と書かれていませんですか。

    1. こんにちは nipachi

      「〜ようお願いします/お願い申し上げます/お願いいたします」
      はビジネスなどで使うフォーマルな表現です。「〜ようにお願いします」という文章もありますが、
      基本的に 「〜ように」は動詞にかかります。
      ようにしてください・〜ようにしていただきますよう

      1. 回答をありがとうございました。

        その「〜ようにお願いします」という文章が「〜ようお願いします」とはどう違いますか。
        そして「お願いする」は動詞ですよね。「〜ようにお願いする」と「〜ようにする」には文法的な違いはありますか。

        この「〜ようお願いします」はフォーマルな設定した表現なんでしょうか。

  10. ご説明ありがとう、 Maggie先生。聞きたいことがあるんです。

    I want to ask you about 「~ようで」. Is the usage of 「~ようで」is same with [ように] and「ようだ」?

    There’s a sentences;
    あの人と話をすると、妹ち話しているようで、嬉しいです。
    Could you tell me what’s the meaning?

    ありがとうございます!

    1. Hi Manami,
      妹ち話しているようで→(typo)妹と話しているようで  It is like talking with my little sister
      Vようで/Nのようで gives a reason for the following part, in this case, 嬉しいです ( I am happy)
      You may not translate “because” and just translate as “and” in many cases but the literal translation is,
      I feel happy when I talk with her because it feels like talking with my little sister.

  11. Hello Maggie! Great Lesson!

    What would be the difference in 京都のよう{な|に}古い街に憧れます。if I use な or に?

    I’m having a bit of trouble when よう is followed by noun-phrases (as it is the case of the above sentence). I can’t really understand the difference is nuances.

    Could you explain it to me, please?

    1. Hello Vitor

      京都のよう{な|に}古い街に憧れます。 
      →京都のような古い街に憧れます。

      In this case 京都のよう modifies a noun, (古い)街 = old (town) so you use な

      So you have to figure out what the main verb (in this case 憧れる=long for) and figure out if what comes before よう modifies that verb or a noun in that sentence.
      You can’t 憧れる just 京都のよう(like Kyoto) so you can guess that doesn’t modify a verb, 憧れる.

      1. I see!

        But instead of the verb, couldn`t ように be modifying the i-adjective (古い) by itself?

        I was thinking something like this:

        When you use に you put emphasis on your attraction to old cities and you just use Kyoto as an example of an old city. This would translate as “I admire old cities like Kyoto for example.

        When you use な you put emphasis on old cities you admire that resemble Kyoto. This would translate as “I admire old cities that resemble Kyoto.”

  12. Hello,

    I really do not understand what “よう” is doing in this sentence: そんなことができるようで嬉しかった

    Can you please help me?

    1. Hi Kat,
      That よう is the same as みたい. It seems like ~
      I can’t tell from the sentence what そんなこと means but the writer was talking about some possibility, one will be able to do something in future, right?.
      I was glad that it seemed like that one can do such a thing/such a thing was feasible…

  13. 先生こんにちは! Sensei I am having a doubt that why かis used in かのように?
    can we use のように alone instead of かのように?what’s the difference between them sensei?

    1. こんにちは!S.Abinaya

      First のように is used with a noun
      noun + のように  Ex.犬のように = like a dog
      verb + かのように Ex. 私のことを知っているかのように = as if ~ knows about me

      When you use ように with a verb, you can use ように instead of かのように but the nuance difference is
      verb + ように  歌うように like singing
      verb + かのように 歌うかのように as if one sings

  14. Hi. In this sentence:
    今日もあの人であるように
    Could である be interpreted as naru?
    It’s just that it does not make sense to me if it means “be”

    1. Hello again, Bere.
      It depends.
      The basic difference is
      ある to be
      なる to become (or “to be” which expresses the change. It was someone else but hope ~ will be ~ )
      What is the context of the sentence?
      For example, you have a crush on some hair stylist at a hair salon. You don’t know who would be your hair stylist today. Then say “今日も(担当は)あの人であるように・ありますように! (I hope he/she will be (my hair stylist) for today again.

      If you want to use なる, you have to change a little bit
      今日も(担当は)あの人になるように!・なりますように。(なる = ended up having that person as my stylist)

  15. Hello, Maggie. I spent several hours and couldn’t find the answer myself, please help.

    What is the difference between ように when I want to say “like;as” and “in order to”?

    For example:
    彼女は歌うように話す。Might be translated as both “In order to sign, she speaks” and “She talks like singing”.
    I was told that I need to use まるで (彼女はまるで歌うように話す)for the 2nd case, but why? Wasn’t it just an additional in the note above: “まるで ( = marude) is often used with よう( = you) to add the meaning of “just“”as if“”?

    The overall question is difference between like and in order to with ように.

    1. Jiji

      ように means
      1) to do ~ in order to ~ (purpose)
      2) to do like ~

      彼女は歌うように話す。 is the second one.”to talk like singing”
      まるで adds the meaning of “as if”

      The usage 1) in order to:
      “In order to sing, she speaks” doesn’t make sense.

      But if you change the subject a little, it may work.
      For example, she has been refusing to sing.
      Ex. 彼女が歌うように(彼女と)話してみる。
      I will talk to her in order her to sing.

      1. Yes. I checked the lyrics. The previous line has a key.
        I don’t translate the whole thing but the rough idea is,
        I hope “the first world I see and the first voice that I hear when I wake up” is you.

  16. Sensei:

    I came across this paragraph in Winter Carol

    引括めて云えば、彼女は気を揉ませるなとでも云いたいような女であった。しかし世話女房式な、おお、どこまでも世話女房式な女であった。

    which in the english version is:

    Altogether she was what you would have called provoking, you know; but satisfactory, too. Oh, perfectly satisfactory.

    I am having difficulty figuring out why the translator decided to use 気を揉ませる plus な

    When I parse the sentence out, to me, it seems that he decided to use that verb in the causative form to mean:

    altogether I want to say this woman was the kind that made one worry, you know(な)(meaning she was provoking, therefore, made whomever looked at her worry)

    Would my assumptions be right regarding 気を揉ませる and な?

    よろしくお願いします。

    1. Hello

      な is for negative command. 「気を揉ませるな」 = Don’t make me (me = the speaker) worry ( = Don’t provoke me)
      (talking to the woman)

  17. Hello Maggie Sensei,

    I apologize if you’ve already covered this but I couldn’t find any information on it.

    Would this be gramatically correct: i-adj plain form + ように + verb plain form. Ex. 自分だけに都合がよいように振る舞う

    Thanks!

    1. Yes, you can use the pattern when you quote
      i-adjective plain form + ように + verb

      It seems like ~
      彼女にとって、この仕事はきついように見える
      今年の冬は去年より寒いように思う。

  18. Hello Maggie Sensei!
    I’m getting confused between the use of ために and ように. Since they both are used as “in order to” or “to aim for”.
    大学に合格できる……………一生懸命勉強しています。(ように、ために) which one is suitable for the blank?

    1. Hi Muskan

      大学に合格できる(ように)一生懸命勉強しています。
      合格できる is a potential form so you use ように

      You can use ために
      Ex. 大学に合格するために一生懸命勉強しています。

      Check my ために lesson. I explained the difference a little. (Click this link)

  19. Hi Maggie, I’ve come accros a sentence and I can’t really understand what’s this you to for?
    よほど怠けてない限り頭を拳銃でぶら抜かれようと心臓をナイワで刺されようと死神は死なない。
    (It’s obviously from death note ☺️)
    Thank you in advance 😊

    1. Hi Liza,
      I don’t do the translation here but

      Probably you don’t understand the usage ようと, right?

      (たとえ) 〜ようと means No matter how/what or Even if ~
      頭を拳銃でぶら抜かれようと Even if his head were shot through
      心臓をナイフで刺されようと Even if his heart were stabbed with a knife
      And these two sentence modify the main sentence, 死神は死なない。
      よほど怠けてない限り = unless being too lazy

  20. Dear Maggie Sensei
    Congratulations on a brilliant, informative website.
    May I ask a question in relation to the following sentence which appears on this page.

    Why is it Kanojo mo, and not kanojo o
    Kanojo mo issho ni kitai you na kao wo shite ita.
    Apologies if this has been asked before but there are too many to look through.
    Thanks in advance.

    1. Hello Nick,

      も here means “also” “too”
      For example, imagine this conversation.
      You: “I am going to Tokyo tomorrow.”
      = 「明日、東京に行くよ。 」
      = Ashita Toukyou ni ikuyo.
      She : “I want to go there with you,(too).”
      = 「私も一緒に行きたい!」
      = Watashi mo issho ni ikitai!
      You use the particle も (= mo) because she “also” wants to go to Tokyo.

      Now, she is not actually saying that but you can tell she really wants to go to Tokyo with you.
      When you get to Tokyo, you are remembering her and say

      Ex. 彼女も一緒に来たいような顔をしていた。
      = Kanojo mo issho ni kitai you na kao wo shiteita.
      = She looked like she wanted to come with me.

      You don’t use を (= wo) because を (= wo) is an object marker and 彼女( = kanojo) is a subject in that sentence.

  21. Hi Maggie,

    It’s been a while! Hope you are well :)

    I was just wondering how often よう appears on its own, as it does near the end of this sentence I came across:
    なるべく考えないように勤め、表面には喜びを一杯に表して、お母ちゃんが不安にならないよう気を配った。

    I always expect -に or -な after よう, but I guess it’s fine without. Does it change the meaning much? I’m assuming the end part means “took care not to make mum uneasy”?

    Many thanks as always,
    Peter.

    1. Hello,
      You sometimes drop に and just say よう
      Basically ように modifies a verb so when you list a few verbs,
      In this case, there are three verbs,
      ように do A , B and ~ よう C.
      The last よう modifies the verb C
      A(努める), B(表す) and C(気を配る).
      And the last part means “I was careful/paid attention tying not to make my mum uneasy.”

  22. こんばんは、マギー先生。
    I have read this post at least twenty times in the last couple of years. On today’s read-through, I was finally able to recognize what everything means without having to look at your translation. I am now confident that if something throws the word よう at my face, I will know what it means.

    However, I am still not sure when to use particular cases of よう *myself*。
    Like, I am likely to say 忘れないように気をつけてください, using the fourth case of よう (-> in order to A, B). But I have trouble knowing when to use よう over other grammatical structures in the other cases.

    Why would I use 疲れたような顔 to mean a tired (looking) face over 疲れたそうな顔, or even just 疲れた顔? When do I use よう over そう, or nothing at all?

    Also, why would I say ようになる over just になる? ラーメンが好きようになった just seems like a longer way of saying ラーメンが好きになった.

    Finally, is the following excerpt from my notes correct:
    【★ Adjective ような Noun:
    You don’t say 忙しいような人, we would just use そう. ような only comes after an adjective when quoting】

    Thank you so much!
    P.S. Is it weird that I never get an email alert when you reply to my comment? I always just kinda have to reload the page..

    1. Hi
      There is no notification for the comment so you just have to come back here. (^_−)−☆
      OK, there are many questions but let me answer brifly.

      1)
      A) 疲れたような顔
      B) 疲れたそうな顔 (wrong)
      C) 疲れた顔 (tired face)

      The translation of A) and B) are the same, tired face but the difference is
      A) Maybe that person is not actually tired but the speaker is assuming that the person is tired. (Looks tired)
      B) is more direct. That person has a tired face.

      2)
      ラーメンが好きになった. (Correct)
      ラーメンが好きようになった (It is grammatically wrong)

      If it is a verb, you can say Vようになった.
      好き means “to like” and you might think it is a verb but actually it is an i-adjective.

      3) Yes, your note is correct. You don’t say 忙しいような人. You say  忙しい人・忙しそうな人

  23. Sorry if somebody already asked this. This is a partial quote from Madoka Magica I’m confused about: “避けようのない滅び。(さけようのないほろび)”
    Question 1: What is ~よう doing here and what does it mean in this context?
    Question 2 and 2.5: What does “~you no nai” mean? Would it be the same as saying “~nai you ni?”

    Thank you!

    1. Hi Ten,

      Ah that よう is different from the one I explained in this lesson.
      Vようがない = There is no way that one can do something
      避けようがない= You can’t avoid
      When it modifies a noun 避けようがない+ noun or 避けようのない+ noun = unavoidable + noun

      Other example
      わからない →(stronger) わかりようがない・わかりようのない
      わかりようがない・わかりようのない問題 = The question/issue/problem that there is no way that one would know

  24. Hello maggie

    For the sentence pattern V-ない ようにand V dic form ように, everywhere I have seen when there is third person instructing something, they have used passive form. But can we also form sentence without applying passive form.?

    Exp. この仕事を今日中やるように頼まれました。
    Could it be 彼は私に今日中仕事をやるように頼めます。

    1. Hello Kirti,

      It’s possible to use ように to give an instruction.
      Let me fix your sentences a little to make it sound more natural.
      この仕事を今日中にやるように頼まれました。
      or (私は)彼に今日中にこの仕事をやるように頼まれました。

      →彼は私*に今日中にこの仕事をやるように頼んだ。
      (You usually use passive form when you talk about yourself so this sentence itself is possible but it will be more natural to use the third person instead of 私)

      上司は彼に今日中にこの仕事をやるように頼んだ。

  25. マギー先生! 助けて下さい!

    I found this sentence while reading manga and I can’t translate it!
    あいつはお前が思っているような。。。

    Thank you so much for your lesson! They are very helpful.

    1. Hello Nicole,

      あいつ= that person, he/she (rough/male speech)
      お前 = you (rough/male speech)
      思っている= thinking
      ような= like
      The last part is missing but it means
      He (or She) not what you thought he(or she) was

  26. Maggie 先生!
    I love your site, every time I have a question about something I come here bcos for me this is the most helpful site!
    Thank you so much for your effort!

    I thought that I was understanding everything about ようbut at the very end of this lesson I found this and then I found myself puzzled again x. X….

    “どうですか?わかったような気がしてきましたか?”
    Is it possible to use ように here? (I mean instead of ような)
    As far I understood this is what I got:

    –> ような needs a noun before and after it (like a ‘noun’ sandwich 🤣)
    –>ように has a verb/adjective just after it (or as I saw in one of your comments modifies noun)
    I also noticed ように can have a verb before and after without using の (like a ‘verb’ sandwich 🤣) [無視されているように感じる]
    But in the last phrase that I quoted it’s verb+ような+verb and I don’t understand then… What is the real difference between using ような and ように 😢… Please! Help! 😣

    1. Hello ジェシ
      Welcome back to this site! 😊
      Right.
      ような + noun
      ように +verb
      ような actually modifies “気” which is a noun not the following verb, する (= suru)
      (わかったような)気 (noun) +が ( particle) +する(verb)

  27. Hello! Your explanations are very good, thank you so much.
    I have a question.
    I found this sentence on a YouTube video:
    先生にもっと勉強するよう言われました.
    I’m not sure it is correct and maybe I didn’t understand it.
    よう is not followed by に or な here.
    Can you help me understand it?
    ありがとうございます

    1. Hello さたばう

      先生にもっと勉強するように言われました
      →You sometimes omit に
      先生にもっと勉強するよう言われました

      試験に受かるようにがんばった。
      →試験に受かるようがんばった。

      You tend to drop に in writing form more.

  28. Hello, マギー先生
    This is my first post ever on your site and I have to first thank you for all your hard work !

    I have a question for when ように refers to something you wish for. There is a similar grammar rule ~といい
    I am a little confused as when to use which.
    Are they interchangeable?

    -父の病気が早く治りますように
    父の病気が早く治るといいね

    -明日がいいお天気になりますように
    明日がいいお天気になるといいのですが

    Thank you in advance and
    これからもよろしくお願いします。

    1. こんにちは、りさ!
      The English translation is the same but here are the nuance difference.
      1) I hope my father gets better soon.
      父の病気が早く治りますように is expressing one’s prayer.
      (Wishing my father’s quick recovery)

      父の病気が早く治るといいね
      You are talking to someone else. And it should be the mutual wish between the speaker and the listener.

      2) 明日がいいお天気になりますように (The same as the above example, it expresses your wish. It doesn’t matter if you have a listener or not. You could be just talking to yourself.

      明日がいいお天気になるといいのですが
      You say this when you have a listener.
      Leaving the sentence unfinished like this (〜が) has two functions.

      1) polite (when you are talking to someone superior and you finish the sentence with が)
      2) が means “but” so it implies Ex. I don’t know. /I’m afraid it may rain (expressing uncertainty /worries)

      1. Thank you so much for your explanation !

        So do we use ~といい when we have a listener and when both parties feel the same way ?

        明日がいいお天気になるといいな
        Would this sentence make it the same ? 明日がいいお天気になりますように ?

        Thank you again :)

        1. So do we use ~といい when we have a listener and when both parties feel the same way ?
          →Depends on the suffix

          明日がいいお天気になるといいね  Needs an agreement from the listener
          明日がいいお天気になるといいな You could be just talking to yourself

          The difference between いいな and ますように

          ますように expresses one’s stronger desire. You often use ように when you pray for something.

  29. Sorry this may be clearer:

    Vるように見える/見えた
    Only present tense for the verb preceding ようにwith 見える/見えた

    Vるor Vたように感じる/ 感じた、思える/思えた、聞こえ/聞こえた
    Present or past tense for 感じる/感じた、思える/思えた、聞こえる/聞こえた。
    Did I understand correctly?

    ありがとうございます

    1. Hi エマ!
      Technically if the following verb is past tense, the previous verb can be present tense.
      For example
      怒っているように見える/見えた
      怒ったいるように感じる/思える/聞こえる or
      怒ったいるように感じる/思える/聞こえる 感じた/思えた/聞こえた

      But actually some people use past tense for both in conversation.
      怒っていたように見えた/感じた/思えた/聞こえた

  30. Hello!
    Thank you for the many many great lessons!
    I have a question:

    Vるように見える/見えた
    Only present tense for the verb preceding ようにwith 見える

    Vるor たように感じる、思える、聞こえる
    Present or past tense for 感じる、思える、聞こえる。
    Did I understand correctly?

    ありがとうございます!

    1. 返事してくれてありがとうございました‼️
      So for example, if I went to the gym and got very tired, but I wanted to make a joke, could I say:
      何もしなかかったように感じるよ!
      “ I feel like I didn’t do anything!”
      ( sorry I couldn’t think of a better example!)

      1. Hmm
        If you didn’t do anything, you don’t feel it so you can’t use 感じる.
        It might work with 感じない
        It’s more complicated but for example なにもしなかったように全く疲れを感じない

  31. 彼らはいつものようにソファーの上でレコードをきいていた.

    In the above sentence could any please advise why we use のように please advise

    1. いつものように
      As they always do/like they always do (いつもやっているように・いつもしているように) → as always (いつものように)

  32. Hello,

    First of all, thank you so much for your posts, they are so helpful.
    I am confused with the following sentence:
    体重計に乗るたびに痩せようと思うのだが。。。

    Is the same case that this?:
    It looks/seems/sounds/feels+ like

    〜★〜ように+ 見える ( = mieru) / 思える ( = omoeru) / 聞こえる( = kikoeru) / 感じる ( = kanjiru)

    I’m not sure since it is 思う and not 思える.

    Thank you.

    1. Hello, Ku

      Ah, OK, that よう is a volitional form so please check this lesson.
      →Click this lesson.

      やせようとする・やせようと思う trying to lose weight (expressing one’s volition, will)

    2. Hello Ku,
      痩せようと思う implies that the speaker as a plan/idea/thought of loosing weight/become thin, however he or she hasn’t took any actions to realize it yet.

      痩せようと思うのだが = I feel like I want to be thin…

      ヨロシク

      1. After a quick reflection, I think “痩せようと思うのだが = I feel like I’m gonna lose some weight” would be even better.

  33. Maggie-sensei, hello and thank you for your hard work on this site. Asking a question for the first time.
    You previously said in the comments section that we should use Noun + の+ように+Adj + Noun = works as an adjective, as in彼は、ガラスのように繊細な心を持っている。
    I got confused, because in Minna no Nihongo they give examples using the pattern Noun + の+ような+Adj + Noun (IMCのような大きい会社; 彼のような面白い人と友達になりたい) and Noun + の+ように+Verb + Noun (「トトロ」のように子供と一緒に楽しめる映画が好き). I don’t understand what particle I should use and why, could you please shed some light on this a little bit more?
    In: スコティッシュフォールドのような可愛い猫が飼いたいです。Can I use both に and な?
    And:
    スコティッシュフォールドのように座れる猫が飼いたいです。
    モデルのように歩く女性は上品です。Is it correct to always use に in such cases both with potential and non-potential Verbs?
    I hope my questions make sense.

    1. Hi エナ!
      Sorry for the late reply. I just came back from the trip.
      The difference is ように modifies a noun and ような modifies (an adjective) + noun
      1) ガラスのように繊細な心
      2) ガラスのような繊細な心

      They are both fine.
      1) ガラスのように modifies 繊細
      2) ガラスのような modifies “繊細な心”

      スコティッシュフォールドのような可愛い猫
      ような modifies 可愛い猫
      スコティッシュフォールドのように可愛い猫
      ように modifies 可愛い

      スコティッシュフォールドのように座れる猫/〜のように座る/〜のように鳴く
      ように modifies a verb 座れる/座る/鳴く

      Since a verb comes right after, ように is better.

  34. まず、I LOVE your website、せんせい、Thanks for everything
    What is the meaning of YOU in this sentence?

    10年ぶりに訪れた故郷の変わりように驚いてしまった

    1. こんにちは、Lucas!
      Ah, I should have covered that usage of よう.
      This よう expresses the degree of the state of someone/something
      変わりよう = how much something/someone has changed.
      The way my hometown changes.
      How much my hometown changes.

      彼女の困りようは

  35. Hello Maggie sensei,

    Frozenheart again :)

    I am thinking of the difference between

    『1』その果物は古そうです。
    And
    (2)その果物は古いようです。

    Is it (1) is telling that I have not eaten the fruit, I just look and say 古そうです
    And (2) I have eaten that fruit and say 古いようです。

    難しそうですね:)

    1. 古そうです The speaker is judging (You are right the speaker is just looking at the apple and saying it looks old.)
      古いようです Either the speaker is judging, heard the information from someone else or tasted it and assuming it’s old.

  36. Hello Maggie sensei,

    I have a question.

    I can not use よう with adjective for saying
    彼は優しいようだ。

    But is it possible to use Adj + よう to talk about something in the past.

    For example, if I say
    When we were young, he appeared to be kind to me.
    彼はやさしいようだった。

    Is it still OK, sensei?

    Thanks Maggie sensei !!!!

    1. Hello!!
      Yes, you can use よう with adjecitves

      優しいようだ
      高いようだ

      The past tense will be
      優しかったようだ。

      1. Thanks Maggie sensei. I got it.
        Just 1 more question :)

        Can I say

        ふるそうだった
        = This fruit looked old.

        1. Yes, you can.古そうだった

          Just one thing. I guess it is possible to say 古い for fruits but the fruits usually go bad 腐る(くさる) before it gets old. 😉

  37. Hello, Maggie.
    I had a question regarding using ように before 聞こえるor 見える.
    I thought it was needed but I heard this… 100パーセント外国人に聞こえます。 When watching a video of someone saying to not do something or you’d sound 100% like a foreigner. I do not see ように used here so can you omit it and it will be fine?
    Thank you

    1. Hi Shenrai
      Right, ように is often omitted in conversation.
      You can also say 外国人が話しているように聞こえます。・外国人のように聞こえます。・外国人の発音のように聞こえます, etc.

  38. Maggie sensei,

    You can use to express “I wish …” but it is only for the future wish, isn’t it?
    If I want to say “I wish I shouldn’t have said something”, can I use たら?
    そんなことを言わなかったらよかったのに。

    1. Hello again,

      I’m sorry for my typo in my comment.
      I would like to correct it.
      Maggie sensei,

      We can useよう to express “I wish …” but it is only for the future wish, isn’t it?
      If I want to say “I wish I shouldn’t have said something”, can I use たら?
      そんなことを言わなかったらよかったのに。

    2. Hello!
      Future wish?? Sorry. I don’t quite get it.
      “I wish I should have/I shouldn’t have done ~ ” is to express one’s regrets for the past event which you did or didn’t do.
      So “I wish I shouldn’t have said something” will be
      なにも言わなければよかった。

      You use のに when you talk to someone else.
      You shouldn’t have said anything = なにも言わなければよかったのに。

      1. Sorry for making you confused :)

        I mean よう is only used for a wish for something to happen in the future (not a wish for something in the past showing regret). But is it correct?

          1. いいえ、いいえ
            I have 1 more question.
            Can I use よう to express my wish for my friend’s health when visiting here in the hospital

            はやく病気が治りますように!

  39. Dear Maggie 先生 ❤
    Please help me correct mistake
    I’m still confused about Verb before ように in the usage of “When you warn someone to do something or give someone an order.” And “When you wish for something”
    So I have 2 quetions:

    1, Is this correct if I use V in potential form in below examples?

    Ex1. 帰ってくるまでに仕事を 終えておくように(して下さい。*/ しなさい。)
    ➡️ 終えられるように

    Ex2. Ex. 2、3日安静にしているように(してください。*)
    ➡️ 日安静にすることができる

    2, Is this correct if I use volitional verb (not volitional conjugating form) in below example?

    Ex3. (私は) 母が (私に) 車を買ってくれるように願っている

    どうもありがとうございます 🌷🌷🌷

    1. ここの質問はマギーからの返事を待っていますよ。
      マギー先生、よろしくお願いします^^

      1. わあ〜天人教えてくれてありがとう!
        質問見落としていました。

        Dear Sarang
        Sorry Sarang that it took me a long time to answer your question.

        1, Is this correct if I use V in potential form in below examples?

        Ex1. 帰ってくるまでに仕事を 終えておくように(して下さい。*/ しなさい。)
        ➡️ 終えられるように

        Yes, you can say that. The nuance changes a little.

        終えておくように = Finish your work (complete your work by the time I come back)
        終えられるように = You have to be ready to be able to finish your work by the time I come back.

        Ex2. Ex. 2、3日安静にしているように(してください。*)Keep quiet in bed
        ➡️ 2、3日安静にすることができる just expresses some possibility “to be able to stay in bed quietly.”

        As for your question,
        When you pray/wish for something you finish the sentence with

        masu-form + ように

        仕事を早く終えるように。 (giving an instruction)
        仕事が早く終わりますように。(expressing one’s desire)

        2、3日安静にしているように (giving an instruction)
        2,3日安静にしていられますように。(wishing)

  40. Hi MaggieSensei,

    This is my first comment. I found this sentence 「放課後の予定を埋めるように習い事がある」and wanted to ask what is the 用法 for the 「ように」in this case?

    It’s clearly not the “1) to do something ~ in order to do ~ / so that ~ / in such a way ~” usage.

    Is it similar to the usage in ”楽しんでいるように見えた”?

    It also seems very similar to 「ほど」since the sentence can be changed to 「放課後の予定が埋まるほど習い事がある」

    1. Hi stephen,

      The usage of that ように is “in order to / so that..(reason/ purpose) ”
      The purpose/reason of 習い事 is to fill out the time after the school.

      1. Thank you for your input MaggieSensei.

        Interesting, i’m not thoroughly convinced yet.

        Wouldn’t ために be a better use case if it was “in order to/(reason/purpose)?

        「放課後の予定を埋めるために習い事がある」
        or
        changing 埋める to the intransitive

        「放課後の予定が埋まるように習い事がある」

        I’m starting to think ように might have some other usage instead.
        「放課後の予定を埋めるように習い事がある」

        1. Good!
          埋まる is to be filled by itself (You don’t control)
          When you control something, you use ために but you have to use 埋まる
          It might be easier to think
          埋めるために in order to
          埋まるために so that (as a result) focusing on the consequence

  41. Hi Maggie 先生!

    You said that saying 彼は優しいような人ですis wrong, while 彼は優しそうです is right. I’m trying to understand, and hopefully I’ve come to the right conclusion!

    Is it because it’s actually not a conjecture like 「あの男の人が友達の仕事を手伝ったって聞いた。彼は優しいようだ」or 「Sallyが来てDaveは嬉しいようだ」but is instead trying to use this pattern:
    「夢」のような「話」
    「猫」のような「かわいい動物」
    and therefore, because you can’t say that a person/noun “is like” an adjective,「優しい」ような「人」doesn’t make sense?

    So I can’t say something like 彼女が昨日食べていたオレンジは酸っぱいようなオレンジでした (because ex. I saw her wrinkling her face as she ate) BUT I can say 彼女が昨日食べていたオレンジは酸っぱいようでした or 彼女が昨日食べていたオレンジは酸っぱそうでした (because ex. I saw how green the orange looked)?

    Please let me know if I got it right! Thank you!

    1. Hi Paige,

      Yes, I think you got the idea. :)
      If you say 優しいような人 it sounds like “a person like sweet” in English and it doesn’t make sense.

  42. Dear Maggie 先生 ❤
    Please help me for my below question

    I don’t understand the difference when using ために and ように to describe purpose ” not…”

    For example:
    (1) 遅れない ように いつも早く家を出ています

    (2) 遅れない ために いつも早く家を出ています

    どうもありがとうございます 🌷🌷🌷

    1. こんにちは、
      (1) is more natural.
      Though you use both ように/ために for purpose but you rarely use ないために for purpose. Instead, you use ないように.

  43. hello maggie sensei

    why is ~ たら used in this sentence?

    いつになったら日本語がきちんと話せるようになるんだろう.
    I thought the verb + たら form means
    “if verb” and “after verb”.

    1. Did you check たら lesson?

      You can use たら for “if”/”after” and also “when”
      The speaker believes something is likely to happen./ The speaker is not sure if something will happen.
      来年になったら日本語が話せるようになると思う。I think I will be able to speak in next year.
      4月になったら日本語が話せるようになるかな。 I wonder if I will be able to speak Japanese in April.

      どこにいったらその本が買えますか?  Where can I buy the book?

        1. One more thing maggie sensei..
          Can I use you ni twice, in one sentence? like.
          Watashi wa hana you ni kirei you no naritai.
          I used the noun+ youni+ adjective and the youni +narimasu

          1. And also, can I use the ~te kuru conjugation at the end of this(your) example 最近、納豆が美味しいと思えるようになった..so instead ofようになった it becomes ようになってきた?
            Because it has a feeling of when and a subjecive display of thought.

            I’m really sorry for barging you with so many questions.

            Thank you for all your wonderful lessons.

          2. Sorry. Just saw your question.

            Watashi wa hana you ni kirei you no naritai.
            should be
            Watashi wa hana no you ni kirei ni naritai.

            We tend to avoid using the same particle in one sentence if it is possible but you can use double “ni” in this sentence.

      1. Also what’s the difference if I used -te kudasai or just the te-form straightly here in this sentence, instead of placing ように first.
        帰ってくるまでに仕事を終えておくように
        . Does placing ように makes it more polite?

        1. The difference between 帰ってくるまでに仕事を終えておいて(ください) and 帰ってくるまでに仕事を終えておくように?
          ように sounds much stronger.

  44. Hi, I’m rather confused about でしょう vs ようです。Can you please show me the difference between these two? Isn’t it true that both can be used to make uncertain judgement on the current situation?

    Yoroshiku onegaishimasu!

    1. Hi,
      Ex. 彼は明日くるようです。
      = I heard he is coming tomorrow.
      (It is based on what the speaker heard.)

      Ex. 彼は明日くるでしょう。
      = I believe he is coming tomorrow.
      (It is based on the speaker’s belief)

      I will not explain the whole usage here but it sounds very dramatic.
      You will only hear/see that in some drama or literature.

      I will add the usage of でしょう in the request lesson. I will explain all the details there.

      1. Wow, I didn’t know でしょう sounds dramatic. Looking forward to your lesson on でしょう. Arigatou gozaimashita.

        1. Sorry, one more question. What about かもしれません? Is there any difference between かもしれません and ようです ? (when used to make a judgement on the current situation), Is かもしれません dramatic too?

          Yoroshiku onegaishimasu

  45. hello there.
    What kind of grammar is the following ( found in a game ):

    -逃げようと――諦めようと。
    -どっちでも同じだ!

    Another one with more context:

    -奴ら、もう俺たちのことを忘れちまったのか、子羊?
    -皆私たちのことは覚えていますよ、いくら忘れようとしても。もうすぐです。思い出させてあげましょう。

    Google is not my friend in this case :/. It seems to be “verb stem + you to” but I can’t figure out this structure.

    Thanks in advance!

    1. 1) ~ ようと〜ようと (どっちでも・どちらでも)同じこと
      Whether you try to do A or B, it’s the same difference.
      So combine the two sentences.
      逃げようと諦めようとどっちでも同じこと。
      Whether you try to escape or give up, it is the same difference.

      2) 皆私たちのことは覚えていますよ、いくら忘れようとしても。
      That is called 倒置法 (touchihou) inversion

      いくら忘れようとしても、皆私たちのことは覚えていますよ。

      This ようとしても Even if you try to forget us , everybody will remember us.

      1. Hey thanks for the reply!

        So let me check if I understand this correctly.

        When there is “ようと~ようと”, it means “whether/or”? And can I use as many “ようと” verbs in series to say “whether, or, or, or, etc.”?

        But when there is only one “ようと” it means “try to”, sort of like “て+みる” (for example: “この玉を避けてみる/この玉を避けようと”)?
        Or is it a set phrase together ”ようとしても”
        Could I do “てみるしても”?

        1. When there is “ようと~ようと”, it means “whether/or”?
          Right. Usually you repeat ようと twice. Not as many ようと
          You sometimes use it with adjective

          晴れていようと雨が降っていようと私は行きます。

          **
          The second one is happened to have ようと but the basic structure is
          いくら〜ても / Even if you do something / No matter how much you do something ~

  46. Hi Maggie sensei! It’s me again! I had a quick question :)
    Can you use the ように meaning ‘to hope for’ with a verb not in です/ます form? For example, 風邪を引かないように instead of 風邪を引きませんように?
    Thanks so much :)

          1. Hello Maggie sensei!! I’m sorry- you meant you can also say 風邪を引かないように, right? In your answer you said you can also say風邪を引きませんように, so I wasn’t too sure…

  47. Hi Maggie Sensei, wow what an in depth lesson! I am trying to work through slowly and I am a bit confused on the use of 思える or 感じる.

    Ex 1. 彼と話すといつも批判されているように思える。
    Ex 2. 無視されているように感じる。

    So I think I understand 思う to think -> 思える to seem (it seems / I feel like…).

    But I thought 感じる was used to mean ‘feel’ when you’re talking about the senses (e.g. I felt a cold wind blow), whereas your example is that you feel ignored. So am I right that 感じる is also used with emotions?
    e.g. 私はしあわせに感じる – I feel happy
    So in the second sentence, it is the emotional feeling of being ignored.

    If I used 感じる in the first sentence, would that make sense?
    彼と話すといつも批判されているように感じる

    Thank you!

    1. Excellent question! But hard to answer because the translation could be the same. :)

      The basic difference is
      思う = to think (with your brain)
      感じる = to feel / to sense (with your body/heart)

      思える = to be able to think → Something makes me think / It seems like (judging from your experience/what you see/hear but you still use your brain to judge) However, you sometimes use it when you “feel” something as well.

  48. Hello Maggie-sensei,

    this was one of the most difficult topics for me so far. I had to read it many times to understand it fully, and I am sure I will do it again one day :)

    A small question regarding one of your examples:
    マギー先生に怒られないように宿題をしないと…
    I have to do my homework so that Maggie Sensei won’t get mad at me.

    Why is it しない? Shouldn’t it be something like しなきゃいけない? The sentence you gave in my opinion sounds like “I WON’T do my homework so that Maggie Sensei won’t get mad at me.” Could you please explain? Thank you very much in advance!

    1. These are the pattern

      Vなければいけない・ならない (なきゃいけない・なくちゃいけない) = have to do ~

      Vないといけない = have to do

      なきゃいけない/なくちゃいけない) are casual contraction forms of なければいけない・ならない
      Either way though the meaning is not negative the form itself is negative anyway.

      Ex. 宿題をする→(negative form) 宿題をしない →(negative conditional form) 宿題をしなければ→(casual contraction) 宿題をしなきゃ

      1. Thank you! I have never met the Vないといけない form before. Thank you very much and sorry for asking you too many questions lately :/

    2. Sorry I maybe have one more question with 思える!

      In the sentence 最近、納豆が美味しいと思えるようになった, I was going to ask why do you use 思える(to seem) and not 思う (to think)?

      But maybe ‘to seem’ is the wrong interpretation and 思える is being used as the potential form of 思う, like I have come to be able to feel that… ?

      1. Ah because my translation is “come to like” so you can’t tell exact meaning.
        思える is a potential form of 思う
        So technically “I have come to be able to think Natto is delicious” (前は、納豆は美味しいと思わなかったけれども今は、そう思う。I didn’t think Natto is a delicious food but now I do.)
        You can also say
        納豆が美味しいと感じるようになった。
        = I have come to be able to feel

        1. Thank you for your quick response! I think because I haven’t had much practice with potential form, it isn’t always obvious to me that I should use it (if it isn’t obvious from the English sentence!) so I go back to using plain form because that feels more natural to me
          e.g. I would say “I have come to like” not “I have come to be able to like”.

          もっと勉強しなければならないんですよ!

  49. こんにちはマギー先生、
    I was wondering if you could explain the nuance between making a command with て form versus making a command with ように. : o

    1. こんにちは!
      Ex. これ書いて Can you write it?
      Ex. これを書くように You must write it.

      ように sounds stronger and demanding.

  50. This is a small question, but I saw the sentence 「狼に捕まらないよう気をつけなさい。」and I was just wondering why they left out the particle 「に」? Does it make a difference?

  51. こんにちはマギー先生!
    Recently I’ve been seeing the expression “というように” a lot.
    For instance: 「猿も木から落ちるというように、誰でもミスをすることはあります。」In this case In this situation I think the というように means “that is to say”, however, in other situations I’m very confused about why you would need to use it.
    Would you be able to provide some examples of when and why someoney would useというように?

    1. Hello Confused,

      I will try to help you. The other usage, referring to the first one, is “to give an impression of/that… / as if… / as much as…”.
      This expression is quite similar to と言わんばかり/とばかり.

      1) というように

      分かったというようにうなずき始める。
      => To start nodding in understanding/agreement.

      信じられないというように鼻をならす。
      => To give a snort of disbelief.

      彼女は、この話はもうよそうというように言って、 いきなり慌てて部屋を出て行ってしまった。
      => She said it in a way, like she wanted to get off the subject and then –
      without warning – she just left the room in hurry.

      2) と言わんばかり

      知っていると言わんばかりの口調で言う。 
      => To say with a tone of understanding/knowing.

      賛成だと言わんばかりに頷く。
      => To nod as much as to say “OK, I agree”.

      「かわいそうな人」といわんばかりに人を見る。
      => To look at someone with pity (lit. as much as to say, poor him/her).

      ヨロシク

      1. PS. Regarding 「猿も木から落ちるというように、誰でもミスをすることはあります。」 a very fine translation would be “Everyone makes sometimes mistakes, just like monkeys fall from trees sometimes as well” or “Everyone makes sometimes mistakes, just like the old maxim says 「猿も木から落ちる」”.

          1. Hi Sensei,

            I was wondering whether というように can be replaced with というふうに, such as in the examples below:
            リンゴは 1 ポンドいくつというように売られている.
            自動鉋盤で2.5~3.65ミリというように木取りの仕上がりの寸法を決める。
            分かったというようにうなずき始める。
            Your help is much appreciated! Thank you!

          2. There are some cases that you can use both ふう and よう but I wouldn’t use ふうに for the first two sentences.
            ふうに means “in the way that~” and 1) and 2) have concrete price.

            As for the third sentence, you got it from ALC? The sentence itself is a bit unnatural unless the person nods a lot.

        1. 説明してくれてありがとうございました!Just to clarify though: というように is pretty much only translated as “as much as” in situations where numbers are involved, right?
          I ask because I found these examples and was trying to wrap my head around it.

          1) リンゴは 1 ポンドいくつというように売られている.
          2)自動鉋盤で2.5~3.65ミリというように木取りの仕上がりの寸法を決める。

          Thanks again~

          1. @Confused

            It depends on the context but というように means “as if” / “like”/ “such as”
            Actually it doesn’t matter if it involves numbers or not.
            For example when you explain something, you give a concrete example and quote with というように.

            1) リンゴは 1 ポンドいくつというように売られている.
            So in this sentence, it explains how they sell the apples.

            2)自動鉋盤で2.5~3.65ミリというように木取りの仕上がりの寸法を決める。
            It explains how they decide the size of the wooden frame work.

    1. @fivebx

      Hi fivebx
      I added the link to my そう lesson. Did you check that lesson?

      It is going to be complicated to show all the difference here but
      adjective + そう = to look + adjective
      おいしそう= looks delicious
      You can’t say おいしいよう to describe something looks delicious.

      Then you use it with a verb
      while そう can be used only for the future.
      よう can be used for the past event.

  52. Hello, in the sentence “就職したら、スーツやジャケットのよう_社会人らしい服装をしたほうがいい” would it be に or な and what is it modifying? Also in the sentence “田中さんはアメリカ人みたいに英語が上手ですね” why is it に if 英語 comes after it?
    Thank you!

    1. @Sofia

      “就職したら、スーツやジャケットのよう_社会人らしい服装をしたほうがいい”

      スーツやジャケットのよう modifies 服装 so what do you think it comes after?

      田中さんはアメリカ人みたいに英語が上手ですね

      アメリカ人みたいに modifies (英語が)上手

  53. Maggie, could you please explain this to me.
    「日本語で読めるようにしないと。」The しないと part is really confusing me. I think it says something like “I have to read it in Japanese” but I don’t know if that is correct or why it would be.

    1. @猫にゃん

      Hi 猫にゃん!

      〜しないと
      Vしないといけない・ならない = have to do something.
      You often omit the last part いけない・ならない and leave the sentence unfinished on purpose.
      If you are talking to yourself,
      I have to be able to read it in Japanese.
      If you are talking to someone else,
      You have to be able to read it in Japanese.

  54. やっぼ〜 😊
    it’s me again I am really sorry for bothering you so often 🙇‍♀️😞

    My fist question is this expression:
    フッフッフ

    And then I am struggling with the negative past form verb + よう+ ね here:

    勝負 から 逃げ なかっ た よう ね。

    Can it mean ~ it seems or it looks like

    Whole translation of sentence would be something like:
    It seems/looks like you didn’t run away form the/our game/match.

    よろしくお願いします!😊🤗

    1. @Chii

      フッフッフ is another way of laughing. Usually when you are up to something.

      Your translation is correct.
      よう is It seems like/ It looks like
      ね in that sentence is a suffix for a female speech. The meaning there is “I guess..”
      Check this lesson : How to use ね

      1. ありがとうございます😊

        I am glad that I got it right this time thank you very much 😊😉🤗

  55. hai maggie sensei.
    i have troble to understand the meaning of these sentence. just like u wrote above.

    tsukareta you na kao wo shiteiru. and

    Maggie wa marude dareka ni koi wo shita you na me wo shiteita
    thing that i’m wondering is i can’t understand how to translate
    kao wo shite iru and me wo shite iru. while the meaning of kao is face and me is eyes. and shite iru is to know (if i wasn’t wrong) if i translate it, it would be to know the face. and to know the eyes. but your translate is diffrent. so o get confuse to translate it. please help me out.

    1. @budi

      First “to know” is 知る (= shiru) / 知っている (= shitte iru) not している (=shiteiru)
      The expressions that I used in the examples sentences are
      Also you may want to know this expression.
      Subjectは+ adjective + body part + をしている
      Maggieはきれいな目をしている
      = Maggie wa kireina me wo shiteiru.
      = Maggie has beautiful eyes.
      ( = マギーの目はきれいだ = Maggie no me wa kirei da)

      1. so is that mean
        Maggie wa kireina me wo shiteiru. and
        Maggie no me wa kirei da
        in english has the same meaning as “maggie has beatiful eyes”??
        sorry for too much question. i just sleepless when thingking about something ^=^!! and i just started to learn japanese.

        1. @budi

          They could be translated the same but to be precise,
          1) Maggie wa kireina me wo shiteiru.
          Maggie has beautiful eyes.
          2) Maggie no me wa kire da.
          Maggie’s eyes are beautiful.

  56. Dear Maggie先生、

    Thank you for the lesson. I had so much question about ように。Some question have been answered after reading your lesson above. Which is stated as point 1.

    1. いつだって泳げなくても 飛びこめるように

    The ように above should be: I wish I can jump/dive in.(Just learned from your lesson, thank you very much) :D

    However, I have a question regarding below two sentences.

    1. 生まれたばかりの三日月が まわるよに ほほえむ。
    2. さぁ踊ろう いつもよりはやまる空 ゆるい殻に捲かれるよに軽く

    The よに in the two example, are they as noun such as 世、夜?or there are short form of ように?

    Thank you so much.

  57. Maggie-sensei,

    Thank you for teaching this lesson.

    I want to ask about “いつものように” and “いつもみたいに”, is there any exact difference between these two? Because I just found a question “彼らはいつも _______ ソファーの上でレコードをきいていた” and rather than “みたいに” it said the right answer is “のように”.

    1. @Crims

      A lot of time ように and みたいに are replaceable. However, I agree with the answer.
      いつもみたいに〜きいていた。doesn’t sound natural. Maybe it’s because the word いつも is an adverb.
      Though some people might say that in colloquial conversation,
      ” いつものように + verb ” is more proper.

      You can use “noun” + みたいに + verb pattern.

      子供みたいに喜ぶ。
      = Kodomo mitai ni yorokobu.

      Please check my みたい lesson,too.

  58. Hello, Maggie sensei,
    Thank you for making this lesson! May I ask you a question?
    I can’t quite figure out which case of “you ni” is used here.

    もっと激しさを痛い程味あう様に

    Please, do it harder till it hurts, so that we could taste each other?

    Do it harder, till it hurts like we’re tasting each other?

    We taste each other to make it harder till it hurts?

    Sorry, it’s from modern poetry full of darkness and eroticism which is really hard to understand((

    Thank you!

    1. You got the point Julia.
      This 「様に」 has no direct translation. It expresses hoping or wishing for something. In this case a desire for experiencing pain while doing something god doesn’t want you to know about : ))
      “Do it harder, till it hurts!” would be the best translation, I guess.

      ヨロシク。

      1. Thank you, sensei.

        But I can’t decide what to do with 味あう. I mean, maybe it’s something like “It would be nice to taste each other”, so the “you ni” part is connected only with the “味あう” and has nothing to do with the “もっと激しさを痛い程” part. Or it’s more likely that “you ni” refers to the whole sentence?

        1. @Julia

          It’s from the lyrics of one of BUCK-TICK songs, right?
          ~ように means 1) “in order to / to ~ ” 2) like ~
          The literal translation is
          Like enjoying the passion (or intensity) so much that it hurts

          @天人 Nice follow as always! :)

          1. Well, Maggie took some trouble and fished up the whole context.
            I just took a shortcut and listened to my エッチマインド when I saw “a poetry full of darkness and eroticism”.
            味あう is just an unorthodox variant of 味わう.
            Context is always the key.

            Have a good day!

  59. Hello Maggie Sensei:
    I was having trouble translating these lines:
    いずれそうなる運命 でもいっか
    多目的なようで 罪なようで そういうものです
    I thought it was:
    Someday fate will catch up to me (Literally, I took it as: “Someday, fake will become like that.”)
    But that’s okay.
    Using multipurpose and sinful methods I get by (Literally, I thought this meant: “By means of multipurpose ways, and by means of sinful ways – there are such things.”)
    Mostly I’m unsure about the last line. The only example I could find for なようで was translated “seems like,” but that didn’t seem to fit here.
    Please help!
    Thank you!

    1. @Smoothie Made of Fruit

      Hello, Smoothie Made of Fruit
      (Your name makes me want to drink smoothie.. :)

      いずれそうなる運命 means
      It meant to be like that (anyway).

      I don’t know the context so I can’t answer it but the sentences are very casually written.
      Nなようで means
      It seems like ~
      But since it is not a formal sentences, you can translate
      It is like ~
      そういうものです = something like that.

    2. I’d translate 「いずれそうなる運命でもいっか。」as: ”Let it happen as it’s doomed to happen, though.” / “It is doomed to happen, I don’t care.” / “Fate, it’s just the way it has to happen” and 「多目的なようで 罪なようで そういうものです」 as: “It’s like something with many purposes, something like a sin”.
      Without the full context it’s a bit hard to match the words. However, this should help you, I hope.

        1. So do you think “Someday fate will catch up to me” is an okay translation for that line? I thought it meant that the person was doomed to a certain fate, and tried to convey that.

          So, I’m assuming, for the next line でis used just to connect nouns, not as “by means of”? That would make more sense.

          As for more context, this is from a song, and it doesn’t really have too much more context ( sorry!) which is one of the reasons I couldn’t figure it out. But if you’re interested, the line before it is: クックークックアドゥールドゥードゥー(the song is called Toriatama, so I thought these were just bird sounds). The line after is 知ったこっちゃない 微妙な感じばっかり (I translated this as: “But that’s not something I’d know about. I really don’t know how to feel.)

          Thank you, Maggie Sensei, 天人, for all your help! :mrgreen:

          1. @Smoothie Made Of Fruit
            the person was doomed to a certain fate, and tried to convey that.
            →Yes, you got the idea.

            でis used just to connect nouns, not as “by means of”?
            →Yes. Exactly. It means “and”

            You got the lyrics from one of 初音ミク songs? I checked the whole lyrics but a lot of the phrases don’t make a sense. They just play with the sound or expresses random feelings.

            知ったこっちゃない 微妙な感じばっかり I guess your translation is fine except
            知ったこっちゃない 
            →知ったことではない= I don’t care/ It is none of my business.

          2. @Maggie Sensei

            Yes, the song is a vocaloid song, sung by Kagamine Rin/ Len.
            I will change my translation for 知ったことではない, then.
            It’s good to know that you thought a lot of it didn’t make sense, also. I was worried because so many of the lyrics seemed so random; I was concerned that I was way off with the translation, especially with all the casual language!

            Thank you for all your help! !happyface!

  60. Maggie sensei,こんにちは!

    Thanks a lot for all the useful lessons!

    I’d like to ask you about the difference between

    Noun+のように+Verb

    and

    Noun+と同じように+Verb. For example, does the following sentences mean the same? (Both on a grammatical and polite/causal point of view):

    (1) 彼は、犬のように歌います。
    (2) 彼は、犬と同じように歌います。

    Does maybe the difference would only be the same as in English, that is “…like a dog” for (1) and “…similarly to a dog”?

    I beg your pardon to be such a nuisance. I’d kindly ask you too if I may write:

    この料理の味は、鶏肉のようなのかどうかまだわからない。
    I can’t understand yet if the flavour of this dish is like chicken meat or not.

    Thank you very much!

    1. @Daniele

      こんにちは、Daniele!

      Noun+のように + V
      Noun + と同じように + V

      They both could be translated as “to do something like/as〜” but と同じように means “to do something in the same way as ~”, ” or “to do something “just” like ~ ” (the similarity is stronger than のように)

      (1) 彼は、犬のように歌います。
      (2) 彼は、犬と同じように歌います。

      (1) is OK (even though singing like a dog is a bit challenging. :D)
      As for (2) if the sentence would be good if he sings just like certain singer. (He is copying the way that person sings.)
      Ex. プロの歌手と同じように歌うのは難しい
      = It is difficult to sing in the same way as a professional singers.

      この料理の味は、鶏肉のようなのかどうかまだわからない。

      Let me change the first part because you don’t say 料理 tastes like 鶏肉.
      この肉は鶏肉のような味がする。
      This meat tastes like chicken.

  61. Hi and thank you for the lesson. I recently came across ように in a song and it kind of stumped me a little. The line in particular is 「乙女の剣(つるぎ)を
    この生命(いのち) 燃え尽きるように」. What is the translation of this line and how is the youni being used?

    1. @Dylan

      Hi Dylan, I don’t do the translation here but in order to understand better, you need a previous line.

      ふりかざせ! 乙女の剣(つるぎ)を = The word order is, 乙女の剣を(object) ふりかざせ (verb)

      この生命(いのち) 燃え尽きるように = as this life burns out

  62. Hello Maggie! ゲンキ?
    I came across an interesting usage of ~よう.
    According to kotobank: 「話し手の推量や想像を表す。また,婉曲表現をつくる。」.
    So now I’m wondering about the difference between 動詞の未然形+よう and 動詞の原型+ようだ, for example:
    いまは雲が多いが,午後には晴れよう。
    いまは雲が多いが,午後には晴れるようだ。

    景気も来年あたりには好転しよう。
    景気も来年あたりには好転するようだ。

    動詞の原型+よう can imply both 話し手の推量や想像 and 婉曲. So where’s the difference? – if there is a difference.
    I would be grateful if you could explain me this.

    よろしくお願いします! !onpu!

    1. @天人

      こんにちは〜!!!はい、元気ですよ!天人さんも元気でしたか?

      OK, you use
      1)動詞の原型+ようだ
      both in written form and conversation a lot.

      You see
      2)未然形+よう
      mostly in written form (or you may hear some dramatic scene in a story where a king, profet, etc predicts future or tells what is going to happen.).

      In my personal opinion, 1) is used when you are less uncertain compared to 2)

      1. は~い、私はいつも元気です♪♪(*´▽`*)ノ゙ !ohisama!
        Thank you for your answer, now everything is clear.
        Have a pleasant day! :tulip2:

        1. @天人

          元気でよかった〜 !JYANE!
          どういたしまして!天人さんもいい日を過ごしてくださいね。 !onpu!

  63. Hello Maggie Yukari, congratulation for your website, its really usefull.
    I want to ask you a question:

    What the diference with “you ni” and “hodo”?? They both mean “as/like”, but can’t get the difference between the two of them, how and when to use them. :?:

    1. @Rey-kun

      Hi Rey-kun!
      Here is one of the differences
      Rey-kun no you ni nihonogo ga hanasenai. = I can’t speak Japanese like Rey-kun.
      Rey-kun hodo (jouzu ni) nihongo ga hanasenai. = I can’t speak Japanese (as well) as Rey-kun

      So “like X does” = youni , “as (adjective as) X” (you are talking about degree) = hodo
      Please check “hodo” lesson to see the usage of hodo.

      1. I see Thank you very much, i see it more clearly now.
        Actually i have review your “Hodo” lesson 2 times :roll: if i have a question i will ask you again.
        Great site, keep it up, and thank you very much

  64. Maggie sensei, what is the difference between using まだ熱いから触らないように(して下さい。) and just まだ熱いから触らないでて下さい。?

    1. @changk

      The translation is the same, “It’s still hot so please don’t touch it” but to be more precise,
      まだ熱いから触らないように(して下さい。)It’s still hot so try not to touch it. (while you are there, don’t touch it/ stay away from it.)
      まだ熱いから触らないで下さい。? It’s still hot so don’t touch it. (Just talking about that moment.)

  65. Hello マギー先生!

    I have a doubt, i hope you can help me.

    Well, i understand that if you put a verb in potential form + ようにる it means that you become able to do something.
    But what if the verb is in dictionary form + ようになる?

    For example:
    1. 新聞を読めるようになりました。
    2. 新聞を読むようになりました。

    In the 1st sentence i think it means: “i became able to read newspaper”.
    But what would be the meaning of the 2nd sentence?
    I’m not sure but i think it means: “I didn’t read the newspaper in the past, but i read it now in the present”.
    Is this correct or not?

    Please help me マギー先生。
    お願いします。

    1. @ケヴィン

      こんにちは、ケヴィン

      I’m not sure but i think it means: “I didn’t read the newspaper in the past, but i read it now in the present”.
      Is this correct or not?
      →Yes, you are right. :)

      Ex. ケヴィンは最近、がんばって日本語を勉強するようになりました。

  66. Hello, Maggie!

    I saw a phrase:

    彼は拝むように言った。

    It seems pretty much as a comparison, so:

    ‘He said in begging manner?’

    But as far as I know, the verb means ‘to pray’ in general and a praying gesture in particular. And here is my question: does it assume that the subject clasps his hands, when he’s asking for a favor, like could often be seen in anime?

    So then:

    ‘He said in begging manner clasping his hands’?

    Thanks in advance!

    1. @TWarrior

      Hi TWarrior

      Yes, it means “He said ~ in a begging manner”
      拝む means “to pray/worship ~ ” but in this case just means “to say something begging”
      And when you 拝む, you don’t necessary “clap your hands”. You don’t need to translate this part but when we beg for something, we put our hands/palms together.

  67. Thank you! I was wondering which kanji it was. :)
    Sorry sensei, just one other question…
    When people say things like 迷って I’ve noticed sometimes people say 迷っちゃう or something similar? Is this just a quirk or is it just a thing people do?

  68. Hi, I was wondering if the よう used here is the same 何のようだ よう used? I was searching up よう in the dictionary because I wanted to confirm 何のようだ meant ‘what do you want’, but I couldn’t find it. Just wondering if you could give me more info on the よう that means want?
    Thanks!

    1. @Sammy

      Hi Sammy
      何の用だよう!= Nan no you da you!
      It means “What do you want? / What has brought you here?”
      So the first you is 用 (business)
      The second よう is the suffix よ (Please refer to my latest lesson for all the usage of this suffix.)

  69. このレッスンがもっと読みやすいように本文をじっくり校正して、二三の間違うような言葉を見つけました。

    “ahita” should be “ashita”
    “hirogaranaimasen” should be “hirogarimasen”
    “Kaze wo hikanai you (ki wo tsukete ne)” should be “Kaze wo hikanai you ni (ki wo tsukete ne).”
    “albe” should be “able”

    お尻に噛み付かないようにさっさと誤字を直してね。  !niconico!

    Also, I have a question about one example: “いつになったら日本語がきちんと話せるようになるんだろう。”
    Again, I’m having trouble understanding the conditional part “なったら”, because I can’t think of a way to translate it meaningfully.

    ちょっと説明するように。

    よろしくお願いします

    1. @Zetsuboumanadeshi

      Thank you for spotting the typos. I fixed them. ありがとう!

      You use たら in a conditional sentence.

      明日になったら彼に会える。
      I will be able to see him tomorrow.
      (The direct translation is “when the date changes tomorrow”)

      Don’t bite me please.

      来年になったら日本語が話せるようになるかなあ。
      = I wonder if I will be able to speak Japanese next year.
      which means “when the year changes the next year.”

      And if you are not sure when you will be able to speak Japanese, you say
      いつになったら〜

  70. hi !cryingboy!

    what it means when “youni” appears at the end of the sentence, like “koto dekinai youni na”

    1. @Veron
      Hi Veron, how come you are crying???

      ~ように(=youni)
      ~ koto ga dekinai you ni?
      In order not to do something.

      As I explained in the part
      ★When you warn someone to do something or give someone an order.
      and
      ★When you wish for something
      we finish the sentence with ~ように

  71. Hi Maggie, thanks a lot for the lesson, that made thing much clearer.
    Anyway, I miss the ようにする section, which I think is also quite important, is it already in another lesson?

    Thanks.

    1. @Joyodongo

      Hello Joyodongo!
      I don’t have a specific lesson on 〜ようにする
      But will explain a little here.
      Basically you can use it as I explained in the lesson.

      to do something ~ in order (not) to do ~ / so that ~ / in such a way ~
      (to intend to make things work as you hope)

      Ex. 明日は遅れないようにします。
      = Ashita wa okurenai you ni shimasu.
      = I will try not to be late tomorrow.

      *〜potential verb + ようにします。 = to make sure/try to be able to do something

      Ex. 明日までにこの漢字が書けるようにします。
      = Ashita made ni kono kanji ga kakeru you ni shimasu.
      = I will try to be able to write this kanji.

      *noun + ようにする= to do something like ~
      Ex. このようにしてください。
      = Kono you ni shite kudasai.
      = Do it like this.

      Ex. マギーのようにしてください。
      = Maggie no you ni shite kudasai.
      = Please do ~ as Maggie does.

  72. My bad, but the examples

    田舎のおばさんのように小柄な人

    雪のように白い肌

    appear on this page:

    http://dic.search.yahoo.co.jp/search?p=%E3%82%88%E3%81%86%E3%81%A0&stype=prefix&aq=-1&oq=&ei=UTF-8

    Another doubt I have. I found this line in a song:

    ありふれた人生を紅く色付ける様な

    From I’ve been told that 様な here is used with an emphasizing nuance in a poetic sense. And nothing follows 様な in this line, seems like a separate statement, but for completeness’ sake, here’s the portion of the song:

    ありふれた人生を紅く色付ける様な
    たおやかな恋でした たおやかな恋でした
    さよなら

  73. お疲れ様, Maggie-sensei !happyface!

    I’m trying to ‘master’ you and sou beyond their simplest usages, and well, I find it hard to interpret and translate them when it comes to verbs.

    I checked the entry for You on Kotobank.com and found some examples with Youni used with nouns:

    田舎のおばさんのように小柄な人

    雪のように白い肌

    Should I interpret these constructions as adverbs?

    Source: https://kotobank.jp/word/%E3%82%88%E3%81%86-652682#E5.A4.A7.E8.BE.9E.E6.9E.97.20.E7.AC.AC.E4.B8.89.E7.89.88

    1. @jess

      Hello Jess,
      1) Ah I see. I guess I didn’t cover
      noun + の+ように+ adjective in the lesson.

      I added the information. Please check the lesson again.

      ★Verb + ように+ verb →works as an adverb
      ★Noun + の+ように+ verb→works as an adverb
      ★Noun + の+ように+adj + noun = works as an adjective.

      2) ありふれた人生を赤く色付ける様な
      this modifies to the next line.
      たおやかな「恋」
      In short, (ありふれた人生を赤く色付ける)様な”恋”(noun)

      1. Thanks!
        Sorry to bother you but I still have a doubt :-?

        So you say that ありふれた人生を赤く色付ける様な modifies 恋. Yes, I could understand that, but what about what is in between them, たおやかな?
        I mean, I see that both ありふれた人生を赤く色付ける様な and たおやかな end in な, is possible for two adjectives/clauses ending in な be together before the noun they modify?

        1. @jess

          たおやかな is an adjective to modify 恋 as well.
          So to be more precise,

          ありふれた人生を赤く色付ける様な modifies “(たおやかな)恋”

  74. マーギ先生、相変わらず分かりやすくて詳しくなるようなレッスンをありがとうございました。

    この文章を正確書きましたように。

  75. Maggie先生!マレーシアからのハフィズと申します。よろしくお願いいたします。

    私は今日本で留学するために、マレーシアのある大学で勉強しています。

    一つの質問があるんですけど、「~ように」と「~ために」について質問したいと思います。

    この二つの表現の違いは何ですか。

    「~ように」は、可能形だけですか。しかも、「~ために」は、volitionalform、だけですか。

    例えば、

    1.汚れをきれいに落とす(____)、特別な洗剤を使ってみた。
    2.汚れがきれいに落ちる(____)、特別な洗剤を使ってみた。

    (1)と(2)の(____)の中に入るのはどれですか。

    よければ、詳しく説明していただけませんか。

    どうもありがとうございます!

    1. @ハフィズ
      こんにちは、ハフィズ!
      1.汚れをきれいに落とす(____)A、特別な洗剤を使ってみたB。→ために 
      2.汚れがきれいに落ちる(____)A、特別な洗剤を使ってみたB。→ように 

      1) A(purpose) ために+ B (action)
      2) A(purpose) ように+ B(action)

      目的ーA(purpose)ーに意思が入るとためにを使います。

      汚れを落とす= to remove stains (volitional) →ために
      汚れが落ちる= the stains come out (intransitive /non-volitional)→ように

      1) A(purpose) ために+ B (action)

      *A(purpose)
      →意思動詞 (volitional verb)

      * B (action)

      →意思動詞 (volitional verb)

      AとBの主語は同じでなければなりません。
      The subject of A and B should be the same

      2) A(purpose) ように+ B(action)

      *A(purpose)

      →無意思動詞(non-volitional verb) (可能動詞=potential verb / 自動詞=intransitive verb)

      * B (action)
      →意思動詞 (volitional verb) 他動詞(transitive verb)

  76. Hello Maggie Sensei.

    I read news in Japanese and I have stuck with one sentence. I hope you will help me with it.

    特に若い人たちがISと同じような考え方を持たないように教えることが大切だと、アメリカなどは考えています。

    And that’s how I would translate this sentence.

    America and the other countries think that it is important to teach especially young people not to have the same way of thinking that IS has.

    IS – イスラミックステート

    1. @Berek

      Hello Berek,
      I think you got the meaning.
      America and the other countries think that it is important to teach people, especially young people, not to have the same way of thinking that IS has.

      1. Thank you very much. :)
        By the way. Your lessons are awesome and very useful. Thank you for your effort.

        Greetings from Poland :wink:

  77. I am reading a short story and this paragraph came at the end:
    この話は、人に何かをさせるには、力ずくでやるよりも、あいてがその気になるようによく説明するほうが、ききめがあることがおおい、ということをおしえています。
    How to explain ように here?

      1. So the translation would be something like:
        “Explain clearly in order to let others be interested in doing something”
        Is it correct?

  78. Konnichiwa sensei ^^

    can I ask something?

    what is the meaning/use of くれてる in 乗りやすいようにしゃがんでくれてるルウの背中に乗り

    1. @just a novel lover’s

      Ohayou!!
      くれてる is another casual contraction of くれている = to do something for someone

      乗りやすいようにしゃがんでくれてるルウの背中に乗り
      So “Riding Ruu who is crouching down to give me a ride.”

    2. ah, so it’s the casual form, no wonder… hahaha

      sankyu sensei ehehehe

      but sensei, you’re not give any casual form example in how to use ~te aru that’s why I got lost *sob*

      1. @just a novel lover’s

        I know. I covered きゃ、ちゃ、くちゃ, ん、etc. contraction but haven’t made that form yet.
        Will add it on the request list!

  79. マジー先生,すごく丁寧に教えてくれてありがとうございます! とても役にたちました!

    二つ質問があります:
    1 “ように”は”祈っている”よりよく使えばいいということが書いたんですが,”父の病気を早く治りますように”という文は形式的に使えますか?

    2”いい一年でありますように”と書いた。マジー先生はどうして”で”をつかいましたか? “いい一年がありますように” はばつですか?

    ありがとうございます!

    1. @Pek

      こんにちは、Pek!
      1. はい、何かを願うときに”ように”を使いますよ。文章を少し直しますね。
      父の病気を早く治りますように→父の病気が早く治りますように。

      2.「~でありますように」の「で」ですが、
      「〜である」の「で」です。
      *いい一年だ→いい一年である→いい一年でありますように
      *健康な子だ→健康な子である→健康な子でありますように

  80. マギー先生、こんにちは! 元気なの?質問がある。「I feel like I have been ignored by friends」を言いたければ「友達は私が無視されていように感じる」か「友達で〜」どちらが使えばいい?
    ときどきparticlesが紛らわしい。 !cryingboy!

    1. @ocd

      こんにちは!はい、元気いっぱいですよ。 ocdも元気?
      I feel like I have been ignored by friends
      受け身を使った方が自然ですよ。
      〜に無視をされる
      →友達に無視をされている様な気がする・します。

      1. 元気だよ。
        なるほど。教えてくれてありがとう!
        もう一度問題がある。「Everything what I was saying to her was ignored」は 「彼女に全部もの言っていたのが無視した。」か「彼女に全部もの言っていたのが無視させれた」の(do I need here no?)どちらが正しいの?受け身についてはレッスンがある?ってぜひ習う。(Can I say this way?:受け身についてはレッスンがあってってぜひ習う)
        そして「風邪をひかないように」と「風邪が(を)ひかないで」は違いが何の?アニメに「風邪が(を)ひかないで」を聞いたように物珍しくなった。
        めちゃ長い問題。ごめん。 boucingheart! boucingheart! boucingheart!

        1. @ocd

          ocdも元気でよかった!
          もう一度問題がある。→もう一つ質問がある/あります。
          「Everything what I was saying to her was ignored」
          (僕が)彼女に言ったことは全部(or 全て)無視された。
          If you say “She ignored everything what I said” 彼女は僕の言ったことを全部(or 全て)無視した。

          受け身についてはレッスンがある?ってぜひ習う。
          →受け身形のレッスンがあれば是非勉強したいです。
          (Sorry I only have causative verb lesson. )

          「風邪をひかないように」と「風邪が(を)ひかないで」
          →We both say 風邪をひかないように/風邪をひかないで (You don’t say 風邪がひかないで)
          The difference is
          風邪をひかないように(気をつけて)= Be careful not to catch a cold.
          風邪をひかないで= Don’t catch a cold.

          1. ありがとうございました。 !happyface!
            I noticed that I need pay more attention to what I write

  81. sensei, I just want to know if I translate this correctly:

    同じ高校に入ったのに距離ができたようで ==> If I know there would be distance between us, I would have gone to the same high school.

    Am I correct? Thank you for your help.. :grin:

  82. Hi, you’re website is really helpful!
    I’m having a little trouble trying to say “I want to take lots of photos during the trip so that I can show my family”
    So far, I have
    家族にみせられるようにりょうりょこう中にしゃしんをたくさんとりたいです。

    1. @kjh97

      Hello kjh97! Welcome to our site! :)
      Your sentence is fine. (I think it is a typo. りょうりょこう中→りょこう中に)

      The other natural way to say that sentence is,
      Ex. 旅行中(りょこうちゅう)に写真(しゃしん)をたくさん撮(と)って家族(かぞく)に見せたいです。
      = I want to take a lot of pictures during the trip to show them to my pictures.

  83. Please help me with that sentence, i dont get the” you ni” meaning…

    彼女の不在がいつまでも私に痛みを与えますように。。。そう願いながら癒え掛けた傷を自分で掻きむしるのだ。

    1. Hello Jean Christophe,
      this ように means “to hope” or “may” like in: 早く良くなりますように。(=I hope you feel better soon) or あなたの夢がかないますように!(=May your dreams come true!).

      Therefore the translation of your sentence would be:
      I hope her absence will always be painful for me [/ will always cause me pain]… with this hope [in my heart] I’m gonna scratch my almost healed wounds.

      参考になれば。

  84. Hello Maggie Sensei,
    I’ve got a question about ように usage in the following sentence:
    わたし達の前から一瞬にして人形が消える。お母さまが、吊るすように摘んで持ち上げたからだ。
    Which one of those translation sounds gramatically correct: “Because mother picked it as if hanged up and rased it.” or “Because mother picked and rased it as if hanged up.”? The problem is that I cannot grasp which one of those two verbs 摘んで持ち上げたからだ is the speaker performs “as if hanged up”.
    Thank you very much for help.

    1. @Darkakira

      I can’t picture the mother’s movement either just from the sentence…
      But the literal translation is
      “Because mother grabbed the doll and raise it (or hold it up) as if it’s hanging (with a string?) “

      1. Thank you, oh, and one last question. Maybe my question will be vague, but like in that sentence, where two verbs is after ように, will it always show likeness(‘as if’) to both of them? Or it solely depends on the context?

  85. マギー先生、
    ちょっと聞きたいことがありますが。。
    「ように」と「ために」はどちら違いますか?
    I know that ために sounds more like “for the benefit of”, but my textbook also says that you can only use the particle を with ために.

    For example:

    自分の店を持つために、貯金していますえ。
    自分の店が持てるように、貯金していますえ。(as if ように can only be used with potential verbs)

    So.. can’t you say this?:
    自分の店を持つように、貯金していますえ。

    Because in another textbook I found another example using the particle を
    子供が本を読むようにおもしろそうな本を買ってきた。

    Thank you very much for your time!!

    1. @Macarena

      こんにちは!Macarena!

      You are right. 「ように」and「ために」are very similar and you might wonder which one to use.
      Usually you use ように with potential verbs or verbs with potential meaning such as わかる
      読める、話せる、帰れる、できる、わかる etc+ように
      and you use ために with volitional verbs
      読む、話す、帰る、行く、勉強する, etc. + ために
      and show your will in order to do something.

      Now about the sentence you found

      子供が本を読むようにおもしろそうな本を買ってきた。

      It is possible to use ように when it has different subjects in one sentence.
      Let’s divide this sentence into two parts.

      子供が本を読むように= In order my child to read a book (subject : my child)
      おもしろそうな本を買ってきた= I bought an interesting book (subject : I )

  86. Hello Maggie Sensei,
    Happy Lunar New Year, though I don’t know whether you celebrate it or not :)
    I’ve been a follower of your wonderful site for quite a long time, but this is my very 1st comment.
    Could you tell me what is the meaning of ようで in the following sentence:
    “週末になると、よくフリマが開催されていたりしますが、フリマは、主催者がいるようでいない催し物という感じがするものですが、そんなときには、
    “Who’s running the show?”「誰が主催しているの?」
    “Nobody’s running the show.”「別に誰というわけじゃないみたい」
    なんていうやり取りがるかもしれません。”
    I have never seen ようで used in such a way, but I have the feeling that it has a very close meaning to “主催者がいないような”.
    Many thanks in advance for your help!

    1. @Poriko

      Hello Poriko!
      Thank you for your first message on this site!! And Happy Lunar New Year, 2u2!
      OK about your question, it is funny because someone has asked a similar question on Twitter today (〜ようで〜ないようで)
      Your sentence
      主催者がいるようでいない
      has a following pattern.

      ~ようで〜ない
      It means
      Though it looks like there is an organizer but there isn’t.

      It is hard to tell if there is an organizer or not.
      It is not clear that if there is an organizer or not

      So it means you don’t feel the presence of the organizer in the events like flea markets.

      How’s that?

      1. Ahhh, I think I got it, sensei.
        So, to put it another way, ようで is a conjunctive form of ようだ, and だ changes to で to link 主催者がいる and いない which both act as adjectives of 催し物.
        Does it still work the other way around, sensei? ~主催者がいないようでいる催し物~

  87. Hey, thanks for posting all this helpful information. I have a fairly specific question regarding the usage of ように見える。

    I asked a Japanese friend of mine if I seem like a quiet person and phrased it as “静かなように見える?” and they responded with “(my friend’s name)に比べて静かに見える…”

    My question about this exchange is whether the use of 見える specifies the “seemingness” as being specifically a matter of appearance and/or prediction, or can it also carry the sense of “seem” whereby one is stating from experience that doesn’t really relate much to vision.

    In other words, does this grammar convey that “I look like I’m quiet compared to my friend” or “I seem more quiet than my friend(based on how much we talk)”, or does it depend on context?

    Thanks!

    1. @dha

      Hello dha!
      When we use みえる it could be based on one’s appearance, the impression you get from that person, things or events or your experience.

      私は友達よりも(友達と比べて)〜〜(ように/そうに)みえる/〜(ように/そうに)思われる
      I seem more ~~ than my friend
      I look like I’m ~~~compare to my friend

      Note : When someone looks like a quite person, somehow Aさんは静かなようにみえる/ 静かにみえる don’t sound natural to me even if you adds Bに比べて

      I would say
      a) Aさんは大人(otona)しくみえる。
      b) Aさんは大人しそうにみえる
      c) Aさんは大人しそうな人だ。
      d) Aさんは大人しそうだ。

      1. Dear マギー先生、 thank you for all these useful explanations!
        I am trying to understand the meaning and structure of the following sentence: 日本語で答えてくれる場合でも、普通の日本人の使わないような、変な日本語で答えられることも多い。

        I understand “even where an answer is given in Japanese, a strange form of Japanese is used so that [the language] of ordinary Japanese people is not used”.

        Is that correct?

        Thanks in advance.

        1. @Yoko

          Hello, Yoko!
          答えられる is a passive form so it will be more natural to translate with an active form in English.

          “普通の日本人の使わないような” modifies “変な日本語”
          strange Japanese which ordinary Japanese wouldn’t use

          They often answer with strange Japanese which ordinary Japanese people wouldn’t use.

          (*I don’t know the subject so I translated it “they” but you can replace it.)

          1. Thank you so much!!

            Could you please also help me with the following sentence (excerpt from the Japan Times’s Intermediate Japanese Book, regarding American students in Japan who are being asked by Japanese people to converse in English):

            もちろん、そんなことから、日本人の友達ができることもあるだが、自分が利用されているような気持ちがするというアメリカ人は少なくない。

            In the last section, the part with the negative seems to be the subject of the sentence (there aren’t few Americans who…) but I don’t understand the beginning of that last section. Could you please let me know what it means?

          2. @Yoko

            You’re welcome!
            And let me see your next question.

            First, I think it lacks “の” here.
            日本人の友達ができることもある”の”だが、

            So you want to know this part, right?
            〜というアメリカ人は少なくない
            means “There are quite a few American people who….”

            自分が利用されているような気持ちがする
            modifies “American people”

            So
            There are quite a few American who feel like they have been/are exploited/used.”

  88. Well, I have both of them but the grammar I find there is beginner level and not very useful with the grammar I’m studying now (intermediate). I can find almost everything at どんな時どう使う日本語 but the explanations are very short and sometimes no clear enough.
    Anyway, thank you very much Maggie sensei! :) I will continue checking your page everyday.

    1. @Sandra

      Oh you have both of them.
      OK, I will let you know when I find a good grammar text books.
      Anybody who knows good ones, please feel free to write in this comment section for Sandra as well!

  89. You are really very kind, マギー先生!
    The truth is I’m studying with 日本語そまとめ for N3 exam by myself and although I have other books, as どんなときどう使う日本語, I can’t find good explanations for the grammar I learn everyday. Perhaps it’s too much ask you for this but, could you recommend me any good grammar book, where I could find more detailed explanations? My mother tongue is Spanish but I manage with english.
    Thank you again!

    1. @Sandra

      How about みんなの日本語. It has a Spanish version. Have you ever checked the book before?
      Also many people like げんき.

  90. I see… Thank you very much マギー先生。ように has so many meanings and differents uses that it looks impossible to learn all of them.

    もう一度ありがとうございました。

    1. @Sandra

      You’re very welcome. I know there are a lot of usages of ように and you might feel overwhelmed but it is not that bad.
      Now keep practicing. If you make example sentences, feel free to post in this comment section. I will check them for you. がんばって!

  91. 今日はマギー先生、
    I have a question about ように。I’m reading at “Nihongo so matome” several uses for ようにand it says that you can use it when introducing some explanations, whose meaning would be “as”. I give an example from this book:
    ここに書いてあるように、今度の木曜日、授業は午前中だけです。
    They translate it like: “as is written here, there will be morning classes only next Thursday”.
    So here, ように meaning is similar to とうりに、right? Is this use for ように the one you explained before, with the sentence “マギー先生が言ったようにもっと漢字の勉強をすればよかった”?
    And the sentence I wrote as example is correctly translated? For me, the correct translation it would be:
    “As is written here, next Thursday, there will be classes only in the morning”.
    Thank you in advance, 先生、and sorry for a so long question!

    1. @Sandra

      こんにちは、Sandra!
      Let me see your question here…
      Q : So here, ように meaning is similar to とうりに、right?

      Yes.
      Q : Is this use for ように the one you explained before, with the sentence “マギー先生が言ったようにもっと漢字の勉強をすればよかった”?

      That is right.

      Q : And the sentence I wrote as example is correctly translated?
      there will be morning classes only next Thursday

      I see. If this only goes to Thursday, it is wrong but I think this “only” goes to “morning classes”. In that case the translation is correct.
      And your translation is also correct.

  92. Sorry about all these questions ^^’

    What’s the grammar of みたいな and みたいに ?
    What are the forms that we can write before them ?

    thank you

    1. @Jo
      みたいな and みたいに usually come after a noun or a verb
      ★noun + みたいな+ noun

      Ex. お人形みたいな女の子 = Girl who is like a doll
      ★noun + みたいに+ verb / adjectives

      Ex. プロの歌手みたいに歌う = to sing like a professional singer
      Ex. 冬みたいに寒い= It’s cold like in winter

      ★verb + みたいな+ noun
      Ex. 日本にいるみたいな気分
      = feel like being in Japan

      ★verb + みたいに+ verb
      Ex. 彼はなんでも知っているみたいに話す。
      = To talk as if he knew everything

      Although it is not so common we hear adj+みたいな in conversation to quote someone’s speech.
      Ex. 北海道はこの夏、雨が多いみたいなことを言っていた。
      = I heard something like it rains a lot in Hokkaido this summer.

      Ex. 彼は元気みたいなことを言っていた。
      = I heard he was doing OK or something like that.

  93. These sentences are correct ?

    静かなような住居です。
    さっきは便利だったような自転車を見た。

    1. @Jo
      I would use そうな instead of ような there.
      静かなような住居

      静かそうな住居 sounds more natural
      便利だったような

      便利そうな自転車
      It may not apply all the time but we use そうな for something visual and ような is used more for the contents.
      (Related lesson : 〜そう

      Ex. なんだか今日はいつもより静かなような気がする。
      Ex. 昔使っていた自転車はもっと便利だったような記憶がある。

    1. @jo

      Hello jo!
      1) verb plain form + ような Ex. 笑うような….
      2) noun+の+ ような Ex. マギーのような、Ex. この映画のような….
      3) i-adj plain form + ような Ex. 寒いような….
      4) na-adj ~な+ ような Ex. 静かなような….

  94. 今日はマギー先生お元気でしたかこれはまた素晴らしいレッスンでしたね〜いつも有難う御座いました!
    “よう”という言葉について質問があるんですけど(これから日本語で続けるのは大変になりそうから英語でやります ^^)

    I recently came across a sentence as i was randomly googling a japanese verb.
    人間は自分が考えるような人間になる
    it appears to be the translation of an Earl Nightingale phrase
    “we become what we think about”
    The thing is, i didnt get the same meaning at all at first from the japanese sentence, i rather understood it as “We(or humans) become self thinking (become like humans thinking by themeselves)
    maybe it doesnt make as much sense but thats how i understood it, can sensei please tell me where did i go wrong, its the same with one of your sentences
    お父さんが心配しているようなことにはなりません
    i understood it as “There is no way my father would become worried”
    I think the commun point is that the ような following a verb is used to compare something with the verb’s object (if it has one) rather than the action itself, should i take this as a rule or am i misunderstanding something here.
    Thanks for your time!

    1. @ライアン

      おはよう!ライアン!!
      Your questions are great!
      1) 人間は自分が考えるような人間になる
      Ah I see your confusion. If you want to say
      “We(or humans) become self thinking (become like humans thinking by themselves)
      You have to say
      人間は自分で考える(or 考えられる)ような人間になる
      See the difference?
      自分が考えるような人間 = a person what you think you are going to be
      自分で考える(o 考えられる)人間= a person who can think by himself.

      2) お父さんが心配しているようなことにはなりません
      Again if you want to say
      “There is no way my father would become worried”
      You have to say
      お父さんが心配するようなことにはなりません。or 心配してしまうようなことになりません。(you have to use the future tense.)

      So by just changing some particles or verb form, it can be what you meant.

      1. 成程!分かってきたような気がします!有難う ^^
        on a side note, if i may, i’d like to add a request of my own to the long request lessons list, i apologize in advance if it was already done before (can’t seem to find it after looking around for a bit)
        its about the correct use of the Volitional (Presumptive)form, there are a couple of points that tend to confuse me:
        – Is the regular conjugation, for example (行く => 行こう) only used with i/we (as in let’s, shall) and never with other subjetcs? (i know about the volitional+とする/と思う that can mean plan or feel like doing something)
        – Are だろう and だろ endings somewhat the same?
        – when using だろう/でしょう do we allways express doubt? or does it simply implie a future tense

        Thanks for your time, i hope you can someday get around to doing this lesson =)
        Best of wishes.

        1. @ライアン

          OK, let me see if I can answer your question here…
          1) 〜よう as in “let’s, shall”: When you ask someone to do some activity together and end the sentence with よう? Yes, you have to include yourself in a subject, “I” or “We” unless you quote someone’s speech.
          彼が明日映画に行こうと誘ってきた。
          = He asked me to go see a movie tomorrow.
          彼女がもうこの関係はやめようと言った。
          = She told me that she wanted to end our relationship.

          2) If you want to make an assumption sentence “I think something/someone will ~ ” then you use だろう not だろ
          明日は雨だろう=I think it is going to rain tomorrow.
          だろ is a rough male speech suffix.
          そう言っただろ!= I told you so! (rough)
          明日は雨だろ? = I think it will rain tomorrow. Am I right? (rough)
          明日は雨だろ!= I am telling you, it is going to rain tomorrow!(rough)

          3) You can use でしょう、だろう as a simple future but it involves some degree of doubts.
          But if you are 100 pct sure you will use an assertive form instead of だろう・でしょう

          c) 彼は来年は日本に来るでしょう・来年は日本に来るだろう
          He will (probably) come to Japan next year. / He may come to Japan next year.
          d) 彼は来年日本に来ます。来る
          He will come to Japan next year.

          You may translate both sentences as “He will come to Japan next year” but d) shows more possibility.

          1. わざわざ僕くの質問を答たえてくれて言葉にできない程感謝しています
            やっぱりマギ-先生は最高!!
            マギ-先生ばんざあああい ^^!!
            御蔭様で今日もすっごく勉強になった!

            Best of wishes.

          2. @ライアン

            そう聞いて嬉しいです。よかった!!
            そろそろライアンも名前を”初学者”から”勉強家のライアン”に変えましょうか? !happyface!

  95. Could you use this form to say:
    Like me, my brother also likes basketball
    or does it not work that way?

    If so would it be:
    私のように兄もバスケットボールが好きです。

    1. @arekkusu

      Hi Arrekkusu!
      Like me, my brother also likes basketball
      私のように兄もバスケットボールが好きです。

      Yes, that works!
      You can also switch the word order
      兄も私のようにバスケットボールが好きです。
      My brother likes basketball like me/I do.

  96. Is “you” often used without “ni”?
    A japanese person sent me this message before surgery, with “you” but without ni or na:

    “umaku iku you inotte imasu.”

    1. @astro

      Hello astro!
      Yes, we often omit particles in casual Japanese including よう”に”
      うまくいくよう(に)祈っています。
      元気になるよう(に)願っています。
      試験に受かるよう(に)がんばっています。
      But you can’t always omit に
      It would sound strange if you omit に for example,
      x うまくいきますよう!→うまくいきますように!
      X マギー先生のようなりたい。→マギー先生のようになりたい。

  97. Thanks for great lesson ! Your lessons really help me studying japanese.

    Like @kohaku, this ~よう form is little bit difficult for me.

    Are there any differences between ~ようになります and ~ようになっています ?

    Ex :
    雨がすぐに止めるようになります。
    雨がすぐに止めるようになっています。

    Any difference of meaning at those sentences?
    Thank you in advance.

    1. @hariajie

      Hello, hariajie! Welcome to our site!
      First your example sentences, 雨 won’t work because you can’t predict if rain will stop or not.
      (A little correction: 雨が止む=やむ not 止める)

      Now ようになります is talking about the future, “will be, will become”. and ようになっています is Future Perfect, “will have been ~ ”

      マギー先生のサイトで毎日勉強すると…..
      = If you study with Maggie Sensei’s site everyday

      a) 1年後には日本語がペラペラに話せるようになります。
      b) 1年後には日本語がペラペラに話せるようになっています。

      We may translate them both in the same say but there is a slight difference as follows.
      a) You will be able to speak Japanese fluently in a year.
      b) You will have been able to speak Japanese fluently in a year. You are supposed to be able to speak Japanese fluently in a year.

      Also ようになっています is used when you describe how things are supposed to work or be.

      電気は自然に消えるようになっています。
      = The lights should automatically turn off. / The lights are supposed to turn off automatically.

  98. 先生こんにちは!
    thanks for the nice detailed lesson. however, i dont really get this sentence . もっとわかるように話してください
    shouldn’t it mean: if you want me to understand more, please talk? since the motto is in front.

    oh and i read from my notes, for ようにone of the example states: 妹は人形のようにかわいいです。shouldn’t it be ような since it has nothing to do with “to do something like”?

    1. @melissa

      Ah, I see.
      もっとわかるように話してください。
      This わかるように is a bit tricky. わかるように itself means “easily, clearly” like “わかりやすく”
      So the direct translation is “Please talk to me more clearly so that I understand you more (better). But since it is redundant, I translated just the way I did in the lesson.

      Your sentence
      “if you want me to understand more, please talk? ”
      will be もしもっとわかってもらいたかったら話してください。It doesn’t mean the same.

      The second question :
      妹は人形のようにかわいいです。
      You can’t change ように to ような here.
      But if you can say
      妹は人形のような女の子です。

      As I explained in the lesson, ような comes before a noun
      ような+ noun (女の子)
      So possible to say
      人形のようなかわいさだ
      because かわいさ is a noun (=cuteness)

      If this sentence is
      もっとわかるようにゆっくり話してください。
      You can translate it
      Please speak more slowly so that I can understand you more.

  99. Sensei..I don’t quite get this sentence.
    Does it mean, “It’s not like Dad’s gonna worry that much.”??
    Ex. お父さんが心配しているようなことにはなりません。
    = Otousan ga shinpai shiteiru youna koto ni wa narimasen.
    = It won’t be the way Daddy worries it will be.

    1. @Top

      Oh, you are right. Why did I translated that way….OK, How about,

      Dad, what you’re worried about will never happen.
      Makes sense?

      1. oh thank you much sensei…your explanation has cleared it all up^^ I guess I’m always confused with ことになる^^

        1. @Top

          よかった!!
          You are right. ~ことになる might be difficult. In this case,~ことになる means “to happen”has different meaning “to happen/ to turn out be / to become / to ended up”
          Related lesson : ~になる
          Thank you for studying with this site!

          1. thank you so much sensei for the link and this website. I’m trying to catch up as much as I can^^

  100. Maggie sensei,

    I try to work with Japanese restaurant owners in USA.

    How do I address them in Japanese?

    How do I explain myself?

    For example, I am an independent insurance broker.

    ぼくは保険のやるひとじゃない?

    I am looking for the lowest premium for customers.

    Thanks!

    Glenn

    1. @glenn

      an independent insurance broker is 保険仲立人(=hoken nakadachinin) or 保険ブローカー(=hoken broukaa) in Japanese.
      So if you want to introduce yourself, you say “私は保険仲立人or 保険ブローカーです. = (Watashi wa hoken nakadachinin / hoken broukaa desu.)
      I will help you find the lowest premium for customers = お客様に一番安い保険料をお探しします。 = Okyaku sama ni ichiban yasui hokenryou wo osagashi shimasu.

      1. I understand.

        How do I say boss in Japanese?

        When I walk into a Japanese restaurant, I want to ask, “Is your boss available?”

        社長いる?

        親分いる?

        1. @glenn

          OK, first いる→いらっしゃいますか? unless you know the boss very well or he/she is your close friend.
          You can also say ~とお話できますか?= ~ to ohanashi dekimasu ka? = May I talk to ~?
          〜はどちらですか?= the literal translation is “Where is ~?” or “Which one is ~”?

          Never use the term 親分. It is for Mafia organizations.
          社長 means president. Although it is not necessary, many people add さん to show their courtesy. →社長さん
          If you want to talk to a manager of the place, 店長=tenchou

          Ex. 店長さんとお話できますか?
          Ex. 店長さんいらっしゃいますか?
          Ex. 店長さんはどちらですか?

          Hope this helps.
          Also you you use Twitter, you can ask this type of question there,too.

  101. Thank you for making this lesson! ~よう is definitely a weak area for me. I can usually understand it when I read it, but for whatever reason, I’m still not used to using it.

    Let’s see…
    Did I say this right?

    最近もう少し日本語の音楽を分かれるようになります。たぶん、もっと日本語の歌うをよく聞くおかげですね。
    Lately, I’ve been able to understand a little more Japanese music; probably thanks to listening to more Japanaese songs.

    1. @Kohaku
      There are many ways to use よう.
      You have to master them one by one. あとは練習(れんしゅう)!!
      Good you tried the hard sentence.
      ~を分かれるようになります。
      →~がもう少しわかるようになってきました。

      日本語の歌うをよく聞くおかげですね。
      →日本語の歌を聞いているおかげですね。

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