Japanese Expression you desu (ようです) -

Intermediate Lessons: 23
In this lesson, you will get to learn another Japanese expression - ようです (you desu).

Some people may mixed up this expression with そうです (sou desu), or 目の"そう" (me
no "sou"), which you have learned in lesson 19. However, they are two different
expressions.

Japanese expression ようです (you desu) conveys the speaker's subjective conjecture,
which is based on the information obtained through his or her sensory organs.

As usual, let's check out the sentence patterns first...

Verb plain-form ようです

い-adj plain-form ようです

な-adj plain-form(～だ → ～な) ようです

Noun plain-form(～だ → ～の) ようです

Let's see how to use ようです (you desu) with an example...

 交差点に人が大勢集まっていますね。事故のようです。
kousaten ni hito ga oozei atsumatte imasu ne. jiko no you desu

Meaning: There is a big crowd at the cross junction. It looks like there's an
accident.

Based on the big crowd that you saw at the cross junction, you deduced that there's been
an accident.

Sometimes you might want to begin your ようです (you desu) sentence with the adverb
どうも (doumo) which suggests you cannot be certain if what you are saying is a fact.
For example...

 咳も出るし、頭も痛いです。どうも風邪をひいたようです。
seki mo deru shi, atama mo itai desu. doumo kaze wo hiita you desu

Meaning: I have a cough and a headache. It seems like I have caught a cold.
More Examples on Japanese Expression ようです (you desu)

1. 道が濡れています。雨が降ったようです。
michi ga nurete imasu. ame ga futta you desu

Meaning: The street is wet. It seems like there was a rain.

2. アランさんはずっと勉強していますね。宿題がたくさんあるようです。
aran san wa zutto benkyoushite imasu ne. shukudai ga takusan aru you desu

Meaning: Alan has been studying for a long time. It seems like he has a lot of
homework.
3. あのレストランはいつも込んでいます。料理はおいしいようです。
ano resutoran wa itsumo konde imasu. ryouri wa oishii you desu

Meaning: That restaurant is always so crowded. It seems like the food there is
delicious.
4. 事務所の電気が消えています。誰もいないようです。
jimusho no denki ga kiete imasu. daremo inai you desu

Meaning: The office light is off. It looks like no one is there.

5. 田中さんは魚を食べません。嫌いなようです。
tanaka san wa sakana wo tabemasen. kirai na you desu

Meaning: Ms Tanaka doesn't eat fish. It looks like she doesn't like fish.
6. 時計が今朝から動きません。故障のようです。
tokei ga kesa kara ugokimasen. koshou no you desu

Meaning: The clock is not moving since this morning. It seems like it's out of
order.
7. 山田さんは病院に行きました。病気のようです。
yamada san wa byouin ni ikimashita. byouki no you desu

Meaning: Mr Yamada went to the hospital. It looks like he is sick.

Difference Between そうです (sou desu) and ようです (you desu)

It's common that people get confused between そうです (sou desu) and ようです (you
desu). Let's use an example to differentiate this two Japanese expressions.

1. 先生は忙しそうです。
sensei wa isogashi sou desu

Meaning: Teacher seems to be busy.

 2. 先生は忙しいようです。
sensei wa isogashii you desu

Meaning: It seems that teacher is busy.

In example 1, it indicates an intuitive judgement based on what you have seen of your
teacher's condition or behaviour. In example 2, it indicates your judgement based on
what you have read, heard or been told about your teacher.

Another Function for Japanese Expression Noun のよう

です

Sometimes you can use Noun のようです (Noun no you desu) to describe something by
using thing similar to it. It's often used in the following sentence pattern...

Topic は Noun のようです

For example, if you want to describe a hotel you saw in the newspaper, you can say..

 このホテルはピラミッドのようです。
kono hoteru wa piramiddo no you desu

Meaning: This hotel is similar to pyramid.

It will be difficult to describe the shape of the hotel. But if you describe it as similar to
the pyramid, it becomes easy to understand. Let's see one more example...
  あの人の髪はライオンのようです。
ano hito no kami wa raion no you desu

Meaning: That person's hair is similar to that of a lion.

Again, it's not easy to describe a person's hair. But if you say it looks similar to that of a
lion, immediately people can imagine the image of that person's hair and understand
your description.

More Examples for Topic は Noun のようです

1. この帽子はサンタクロースのようです。
kono boushi wa santakuro-su no you desu

Meaning: This hat is similar to that of the Santa Claus.

2. 赤ちゃんの頬はりんごのようです。
akachan no hoho wa ringo no you desu

Meaning: The baby's cheek looks like an apple.

3. 山田さんの髪の色はトマトのようです。
yamada san no kami no iro wa tomato no you desu

Meaning: Mr Yamada's hair color is similar to the color of a tomato.

Japanese Expressions Noun のような and Noun のように

In addition to Noun のようです (Noun no you desu), it can also be modified to get the
noun-adjective phrase - Noun のような (Noun no you na) and the adverbial phrase -
Noun のように (Noun no you ni). The sentence patterns are as follow...

Noun のような Noun

Noun のように Verb/Adjective

When you want to describe one particular noun, you can use Noun のような Noun
(Noun no you na Noun). Using the previous examples...

1. このホテルはピラミッドのような形をしています。
kono hoteru wa piramiddo no you na katachi wo shite imasu

Meaning: This hotel has got the shape of the pyramid.

2. あの男の子はサンタクロースのような帽子をかぶっています。
ano otoko no ko wa santakuro-su no you na boushi wo kabutte imasu
 Meaning: That boy is wearing a hat which is similar to that of the Santa Claus.
3. あの人はライオンのような髪をしています。
ano hito wa raion no you na kami wo shite imasu

Meaning: That person has hair which is similar to that of a lion.

4. 赤ちゃんはりんごのような頬をしています。
akachan wa ringo no you na hoho wo shite imasu

Meaning: The baby has apple-like cheeks.

5. 山田さんの髪はトマトのような色をしています。
yamada san no kami wa tomato no you na iro wo shite imasu

Meaning: Mr Yamada's hair has the color similar to that of a tomato.

When you want to describe somebody's action or describe the adjective, use this
Japanese expression Noun のように Verb/Adjective (Noun no you ni Verb/Adjective).

For example, if you want to describe how good a man is at swimming, you can say
this...

 あの男の人は魚のように泳いでいます。
ano otoko no hito wa sakana no you ni oyoide imasu

Meaning: That man swims like a fish.

You can describe in many ways how good or how fast the man can swim. But the best
way to describe is he swims like a fish. People will then know how good he is at
swimming.

Similarly, you can describe in many ways how cold the water is. But the best way to
describe is that the coldness is similar to that of the ice. Then people can get the idea of
how cold it is.

 この水は氷のように冷たいです。
kono mizu wa koori no you ni tsumetai desu

Meaning: This water is as cold as ice.

More Examples on Japanese Expression Noun のように

1. この教室は図書館のように静かです。
kono kyoushitsu wa toshokan no you ni shizuka desu

Meaning: This classroom is as quiet as the library.

 2. 私は日本人のように日本語を上手に話したいです。
watashi wa nihonjin no you ni nihongo wo jouzu ni hanashitai desu

Meaning: I want to speak Japanese as well as the native Japanese.

3. 弟は猿のように上手に木に登れます。
otouto wa saru no you ni jouzu ni ki ni noboremasu

Meaning: My younger brother can climb the tree skillfully, just like a monkey.
4. 私は鳥のように空を飛びたいです。
watashi wa tori no you ni sora wo tobitai desu

Meaning: I want to fly in the sky like the bird.

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