〜みたい
seems, looks like; like (casual)
Plain form / Noun + みたい (だ) · みたいな + Noun · みたいに + Verb
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みたい is the everyday, casual version of ようだ. It attaches straight to nouns, with no の: 雨みたい, "looks like rain"; 子どもみたい, "like a child".
It does both of ようだ's jobs:
- a judgement: 田中さん、今日は休みみたい, "Tanaka seems to be off today"
- a comparison: 夢みたい!, "it's like a dream!"
Before a noun it becomes みたいな: 子どもみたいなことを言わないで, "don't say such childish things". Before a verb, みたいに: 猫みたいに寝ている, "sleeping like a cat".
In polite speech, みたいです is fine in conversation; in writing, use ようです.
Register: Casual. ようだ is the neutral or written equivalent.
Examples
外は雨みたい。
Looks like it's raining out.
田中さん、今日は休みみたいだよ。
Tanaka seems to be off today.
本当に夢みたい！
It's like a dream!
子どもみたいなことを言わないで。
Don't say such childish things.
うちの犬は猫みたいに寝ている。
Our dog sleeps like a cat.