〜らしい: 'I Hear' / 'Apparently' (Hearsay + 'Typical of')
What it means
らしい does two related things. First, it reports something you heard or concluded from outside information — a news report, something a friend told you, signs you observed. English: "apparently," "it seems," "I hear that…" The key feeling is that you're basing this on solid grounds (しっかりした根拠), not just a vague hunch.
Second, as a suffix it means "typical of" or "-like": it says something has the qualities you'd expect of that thing. 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.
How to form it
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").
Hearsay and inference: "apparently"
Use this らしい when your statement rests on information from outside yourself — what you read, heard, or observed. It signals you have a reasonable basis, so it sounds more confident than a pure guess.
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.
This overlaps with そうだ (伝聞), the other "I hear that…" pattern. そうだ just relays a report word-for-word, while らしい adds a touch of the speaker's own inference on top of the information. We compare them below.
"Typical of / -like": the suffix らしい
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.
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.
Tip: the negative 〜らしくない ("not like / unbecoming of") is very common with this suffix.
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:
| 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. For a fuller breakdown, see ようだ vs らしい vs みたい.
Common mistakes
- 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).
Quick recap
- 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).
Your turn
Choose the correct use of らしい (hearsay or 'typical of').
Start the 5-question drill →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.