Comparatives of equality in Japanese - ように and ような

Comparatives of equality establish a comparison between two or more things. In English, we usually say things like "as" or "like", as in: "My car is as good as yours." or "He is fast like a cheetah."

In Japanese, you make comparatives of equality with ように and ような (yō ni and yō na). The structure you choose depends on what comes after the comparison:

• A は B のように + adjective or verb;
• Noun + のように + main verb. Verb + のように + main verb;
• P は A の ような B に verb (ような + noun);
• Adjective or verb + ような + noun / person.

The rule of thumb is simple: ように usually comes before an adjective or verb, while ような comes before a noun. Keep in mind, though, that よう also shows up in other contexts, such as expressing similarity or appearance. The most common forms at a glance:

• よう – as if, like;
• ような – like, similar to (used with nouns);
• ように – as, in the same way (used with verbs or adjectives);
• ～ように – to advise, to give an order (at the end of a sentence);
• ようになる / ようになった – to become, to reach a point, to be able to;
• ようだ / ようです – it seems that;
• みたいに / みたいな (colloquial) – like, as if.

Which structure fits best depends on what you want to say. The examples below show how ように and ような work in a real sentence and where they differ.

Example with ように

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

He is fast like a cheetah.

This is a straightforward example of ように sitting right after the comparison word.

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 ように example. If you only want to say two things are the same, by the way, you can use: 彼女たちは同じですよ (Kanojotachi wa onaji desu yo) – they are the same.

Example with ような

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

He lives in a house that looks like a palace.

Notice how ような connects the two things being compared here.

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 yō na hito de wa nakatta.

He was not the person I had imagined him to be.

A negative case, but the underlying structure stays the same.

一条くんの恋人はゴリラのような女だ。
Ichijō-kun no koibito wa gorira no yō na onna da.

Ichijō's girlfriend is a woman who looks like a gorilla.

Here ような modifies a noun (女), giving it that simile flavour.

Colloquial form with みたいに

彼はきつねみたいにずるいです。
Kare wa kitsune mitai ni zurui desu.

He is as sly as a fox.

This is the everyday, conversational version of ように, very common in casual speech.

猫のような雲
Neko no yō na kumo.

A cloud that looks like a cat.

A minimalist sentence built from just two nouns linked by ような.

The particle の before ように and ような

In many cases the particle の sits right before ように or ような, marking the connection to the comparison word: チーター の ように, 宮殿 の ような. There are situations, though, when の is dropped – most often when a verb follows ように.

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

I want to speak Japanese like a professional.

This example uses ように with a verb in the tai-form (the wish 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 hikōki wa shiroi tori ga sora wo tonde iru yō ni mieru.

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

Here の is dropped before ように because what follows is a verb (見える, "to look/seem").

Quick summary

• Use ように (yō ni) when a verb or adjective follows – usually with の in between (for example: 鳥のように飛ぶ, "to fly like a bird").
• Use ような (yō na) when a noun follows (for example: 鳥のような声, "a voice like that of a bird").
• みたいに / みたいな works the same way as ように / ような, just more casual.
• When a verb comes right after ように, the particle の can be omitted.

If you want to go further with Japanese grammar, take a look at how to express desire with ～tai and ～hoshii and at our list of 150 useful Japanese phrases to study. With a bit of practice, comparisons with ように and ような start to feel natural – try dropping one into your next sentence and see how it sounds.