〜らしい: 'I Hear' / 'Apparently' (Hearsay + 'Typical of')
The judgement it makes: "apparently" and "-like"
らしい lays a judgement over plain facts, and it does so in two related ways. Most often it reports something you heard or concluded from outside information — a news report, something a friend told you, signs you observed. English carries this with "apparently," "it seems," or "I hear that…" The key feeling is that you're standing on solid grounds (しっかりした根拠), not just a vague hunch. As a suffix, らしい instead says something has the qualities you'd expect of its kind — "typical of" or "-like": 学生らしい = "student-like / behaving as a student should."
先生によると、テストは来週らしい。
せんせいに よると、テストは らいしゅう らしい。
According to the teacher, the test is apparently next week.
Hearsay: based on what the teacher said.
ヤッタンはもう日本に着いたらしい。
ヤッタンは もう にほんに ついた らしい。
Apparently Yattan has already arrived in Japan.
今日はとても春らしい天気だ。
きょうは とても はる らしい てんきだ。
Today the weather is really spring-like.
Suffix: 春らしい = typical of spring.
What it's built on
The hearsay らしい rests on information that comes from outside yourself — what you read, heard, or observed. That outward grounding is the whole point: because you have a reasonable basis, the statement lands more confidently than a pure guess.
Grammatically, らしい attaches to plain forms. Nouns and な-adjectives attach directly (drop the だ); verbs and い-adjectives keep their plain form.
| Word type | Attach | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Verb (plain) | verb + らしい | 雨が降るらしい (apparently it'll rain) |
| い-adjective | adj + らしい | 高いらしい (apparently it's expensive) |
| な-adjective | drop だ + らしい | 元気らしい (apparently (they're) well) |
| Noun | drop だ + らしい | 学生らしい (apparently a student / student-like) |
| Past | た-form + らしい | 着いたらしい (apparently arrived) |
| Negative | ない-form + らしい | 来ないらしい (apparently won't come) |
らしい itself behaves like an い-adjective, so before a noun it stays らしい (春らしい日 = "a spring-like day").
モチの話だと、あの店は今日休みらしいよ。
モチの はなしだと、あの みせは きょう やすみ らしいよ。
From what Mochi says, that shop is apparently closed today.
Noun 休み + らしい (だ dropped).
ニュースによると、台風が来るらしい。
ニュースに よると、たいふうが くる らしい。
According to the news, a typhoon is apparently coming.
ヤッタンの弟は新しいゲームがほしいらしい。
ヤッタンの おとうとは あたらしい ゲームが ほしい らしい。
Yattan's little brother apparently wants the new game.
ほしい is an い-adjective, so it stays as is before らしい.
How sure it sounds: らしい vs そうだ vs ようだ
All three can translate as "it seems," but they differ in where the information comes from — and that shifts how confident each one sounds:
| Form | Core idea | Example |
|---|---|---|
| らしい (hearsay) | info from outside + light inference; solid grounds | 雨らしい = apparently it'll rain (I heard / signs say so) |
| そうだ (伝聞) | pure report, relayed as-is | 雨が降るそうだ = I hear it'll rain |
| ようだ / みたいだ | your own impression from what you sense | 雨のようだ = it looks like rain (I sense it myself) |
Rough rule: そうだ just passes a report along, ようだ/みたいだ is your own direct impression, and らしい sits in between — outside information that you've also reasoned about a little. That reasoned-but-grounded footing is also why らしい outranks a pure "maybe": for a genuine guess with no real basis, drop down to かもしれない. For a fuller breakdown of the neighbours, see ようだ vs らしい vs みたい.
In use: the "-like" suffix
Attach らしい to a noun and it means the thing is just as that noun should be — it has the expected, characteristic qualities. The negative 〜らしくない ("not like / unbecoming of") is especially common with this suffix.
ヤッタンは本当に犬らしい犬だ。
ヤッタンは ほんとうに いぬ らしい いぬだ。
Yattan is a really dog-like dog.
犬らしい = behaves the way a dog should.
泣かないで、男らしくがんばって。
なかないで、おとこ らしく がんばって。
Don't cry — be manly and hang in there.
らしい → らしく (adverb form) before a verb.
先生らしくない言い方だね。
せんせい らしくない いいかただね。
That's an un-teacher-like way of putting it.
らしくない = not typical of; the negative of suffix らしい.
Watch-outs
- Leaving だ on nouns and な-adjectives. Drop it: 学生らしい (✓), not 学生だらしい (✗); 元気らしい (✓), not 元気だらしい (✗).
- Confusing the two らしい. 学生らしい can mean "apparently a student" (hearsay) or "student-like" (suffix). Context decides — with a topic + behavior it's usually the suffix.
- Using らしい for a wild guess. It implies you have grounds. For an uncertain "maybe," reach for かもしれない instead.
- Forgetting it conjugates like an い-adjective. Adverb form is らしく (男らしく), negative らしくない (先生らしくない).
The short version
- Hearsay/inference: "apparently / I hear" — based on solid outside information (明日は雨らしい).
- Suffix: noun + らしい = "typical of / -like" (男らしい, 春らしい).
- Formation: attach to plain forms; nouns and な-adjectives drop だ.
- It conjugates like an い-adjective: らしく, らしくない.
- vs そうだ(伝聞) (pure report) and vs ようだ/みたいだ (your own impression).
Practice it
Choose the correct use of らしい (hearsay or 'typical of').
＿＿＿に入れるのに最もよいものを選びなさい。
Choose the grammar pattern that best completes the sentence.
ここだけの話だが、彼はホモ＿＿＿。
Frequently asked questions
What's the difference between らしい and そうだ for hearsay?
そうだ (伝聞) relays a report exactly as you heard it: 雨が降るそうだ ('I hear it'll rain'). らしい adds a little of your own inference on top of outside information: 雨らしい ('apparently it'll rain'). らしい feels slightly more reasoned and less like a direct quote.
How do nouns attach to らしい?
Directly, with だ dropped: 学生 → 学生らしい, 休み → 休みらしい. The same goes for な-adjectives: 元気 → 元気らしい.
How do I tell the two meanings of らしい apart?
Context. 彼は学生らしい can mean 'apparently he's a student' (hearsay) or 'he's student-like' (suffix). When a topic is described as having expected qualities (男らしい, 春らしい), it's the 'typical of' suffix.
Is らしい more certain than かもしれない?
Yes. らしい implies you have solid grounds (something you heard, read, or observed). かもしれない is a genuine 'maybe' with much less certainty.
Where 〜らしい fits
Don't confuse it with
- 〜かもしれない · N4 — かもしれない means 'might' or 'maybe' — it shows you're unsure. Learn how it attaches to plain verbs, adjectives, and nouns, plus the casual かも and how it ranks against でしょう and はず.
- 〜と思う · N5 — 〜と思う lets you say what you think: [plain form] + と思う. Learn the quotative と, why the clause stays plain, the 〜ようと思う 'I'm thinking of doing' use, and 〜と思っている.
Compared side by side
See how this pattern differs from the ones it's confused with:
More N4 grammar to explore
Keep going with related patterns at the same level:
- 〜そうだ — 〜そうだ after a plain-form clause means 'I hear that…' — reporting information you got from someone else. Learn the formation, the によると pairing, and how it differs from looks-like そう.
- 〜そう — 〜そう describes how things look or seem: おいしそう (looks tasty), 雨が降りそう (looks like rain). Learn the い/な-adjective and verb forms, よさそう・なさそう, and how it differs from hearsay そうだ.
- 〜ようだ — 〜ようだ states a conjecture from your own evidence ('it seems') and, as 〜ように / 〜ような, draws comparisons ('like'). Learn the attachment rules and how it differs from みたい and らしい.
- 〜のに — 〜のに means 'even though' but carries surprise, frustration, or disappointment that the result went against expectation. Learn the formation, the な with nouns and な-adjectives, and how it differs from neutral 〜けど/〜が.
- 〜予定 — 予定 marks a fixed plan or schedule: dictionary verb + 予定だ and noun + の + 予定. Learn the formation, the negative 〜予定はない, and how 予定 differs from つもり.
- 〜ばかり — ばかり has two main N4 jobs: 'nothing but / only too much' (ゲームばかり) and 'just did' (来たばかり). Learn 〜てばかりいる and how 〜たばかり differs from 〜たところ and だけ.