seems like ~, I heard ~, typical of ~

Intermediate

10-15 min

very common

Expert Reviewed

Explanation

Expresses hearsay or conjecture based on evidence, or typical characteristics.

[Plain form] + らしい

明日は雨らしいです。

Ashita wa ame rashii desu.

It seems it will rain tomorrow.

彼は学生らしい態度だ。

Kare wa gakusei rashii taido da.

His attitude is typical of a student.

らしい can mean "seems" or "typical of" - context dependent.

～てもいいです

may do ~, it's okay to do ~

～てはいけません

must not do ~, not allowed to do ~

～なければなりません

must do ~, have to do ~

～なくてもいいです

don't have to do ~, don't need to do ~

JLPTBooks Editorial Team

Japanese Language Education Specialists

Last updated: Jan 10

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