Comparatives of equality in Japanese – ように and ような

Comparatives of equality establish a comparison between two or more beings. The comparatives of equality are usually “as, how” used in sentences like: “My car is as good as yours.” or “He is fast like a Cheetah.”.

In Japanese, to make comparatives of equality we use “ように” and “ような” (youni and youna). To make the comparative we use the following structures:

• AはBのようにAADJ or VERB;
• NOUN + のように + MAIN VERB.
  VERB + ように + MAIN VERB;
• PはAのようなBにVERB (ような+ noun);
• ADJ or VERB + ような + NOUN / PERSON;

Thus we conclude that ように is used with an adjective and verb. Meanwhile, ような is used with a noun. It is worth remembering that よう is used at other times to indicate other things like something similar or alike. Below see details of each structure related to よう:

• よう – as if, like;
• ような – as soon as, just like (used with nouns);
• ように – such – as, when (used with verbs or adjectives);
• …ように – to advise, to give an order (end of sentence);
• ようになる – ようになった – to become, to reach the point, to be able;
• ようだ – ようです – It seems that;
• みたいに　みたいな (Colloquial Form). – It seems that;

Of course, the structure will depend on how we want to express or say the sentence, the examples below will help you understand the function and difference of ように and ような.

Example sentences

彼はチーターのように早いです。
Kare wa chītā no yō ni hayaidesu;

He is fast like a Cheetah;

In this sentence we had a simple example using ように.

実乃梨は堀江由衣のように歌えるよ。
Minori wa horie yui no yō ni utaeru yo;

Minori can sing like Yui Horie;

Another example using ように. As we are talking about equality I need to say: 彼女たちは同じですよ (Kanojotachi wa onajidesuyo) They are the same.

かれは宮殿のような家に住んでいる。
Kare wa kyūden no yōna ie ni sunde iru;

He lives in a house that looks like a palace;

Now in this example we had the use of ような. Did you notice that now the 2 objects that are compared are separated by ような.

彼は私が想像していたような人ではなかった。
Kare wa watashi ga sōzō shite ita yōna hitode wa nakatta;

He was not who I had imagined him to be;

This example showed a negative case, it can be seen that the same structure is used.

一条くんの恋人はゴリラのような女だ。
Ichijō-kun no koibito wa gorira no yōna on'nada;

Ichijo’s girlfriend is a woman who looks like a gorilla;

I hope you understood the reference of this sentence.

彼はきつねみたいにずるいです。
Kare wa kitsune mitai ni zuruidesu;

He is as sly as a fox;

In this example we used the colloquial form of ように.

猫のような雲
Neko no you na kumo;

A cloud that looks like a cat;

This sentence is simple, composed of only 2 nouns.

プロのように日本語を話したい。
Puro no you ni nihongo wo hanashitai;

I want to speak Japanese like a professional;

This example used ように with a verb in the tai form.

その紙飛行機は白い鳥が空を飛んでいるように見える。
Sono kami hikouki wa shiroi tori ga sora wo toned iru you ni mieru;

This paper airplane looks like a white bird flying in the sky;

This example was a bit more complex and did not use the particle の before ように. This happened because the word that precedes ように is a verb.

Were these examples enough for you to understand how to make comparatives of equality? If you want to complement the article, leave your comments.