Grammar JLPT Level N4 - Lesson 7

Structure of みたい:

Verb + みたい + だ
［い］Adjective + みたい + だ
［な］Adjective + みたい + だ
Noun + みたい + だ

Details about みたい:

In Japanese, there are many ways to express that something happens in a way that is 'like' something else, or 'resembles' something else. One of these ways is through the use of the な-Adjective, みたい. みたい can be used after any word that a な-Adjective would usually follow, to express that something is 'like (A)', or 'similar to (A)'.

明日(あした)は雪(ゆき)が降(ふ)るみたいだ。
It seems like it will snow tomorrow.
そこのプールは浅(あさ)いみたいだ。
That pool over there seems shallow.
彼(かれ)は地下鉄(ちかてつ)が嫌(きら)いみたいだ。
It seems like he does not like subways.
その携帯(けいたい)はパソコンみたいだ。
That cellphone looks like a computer.

In the above examples, we can see that みたい should always be followed by だ (or です) when it is at the end of a statement, however, this is frequently omitted.

先輩(せんぱい)は今日(きょう)は来(こ)ないみたい。
It seems like senpai is not coming today.

みたい is also often used to describe another noun, but needs to be followed by な in these cases. In this type of sentence, it is just expressing that something is '(B), but resembles (A)'.

彼(かれ)はスポーツ選手(せんしゅ)みたいな体をしている。
He has a body like an athlete.

みたい is used most often in conversational situations, and is based on direct, reliable information. It is far less formal than its counterpart, ようだ.

みたい

Usage Notes for みたい:

Despite みたい meaning 'to resemble', and being based on (usually) visual stimulus, it should not be confused with 見(み)たい 'to want to see'. This is a common mistake that learners make, as みたい itself does not have a kanji form.