JLPT N4 Grammar Guide: ようだ (you da)

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JLPT N4 Grammar Guide: ようだ (you da)
Meaning & Usage

✨ Basic Meaning

It seems that… / It appears like…

🎯 Primary Function

Expressing a subjective inference or conjecture based on observation or information.

📋 Grammar Structure

[Verb Plain Form] + ようだ
[i-Adjective Plain Form] + ようだ
[na-Adjective Stem] + な + ようだ
[Verb/Adjective Nai-form] + ようだ

🎭 Usage Contexts

🏢 Formal Situations

Commonly used as ‘ようです’ (you desu) in professional or polite conversations to express uncertainty politely.

😊 Informal Situations

Used as ‘ようだ’ (you da) among friends to share observations or guesses.

✍️ Written Language

Used in formal reports or novels to describe a state of affairs from the author’s perspective.

🗣️ Spoken Language

Very common in daily conversation for describing situations.

💡 Common Applications

Sensory Inference
Making a judgment based on what you see, hear, or feel.
Example: 外が暗いので、雨が降るようです。 (It’s dark outside, so it seems it will rain.)
Subjective Conjecture
Expressing a personal guess or intuition about a situation.
Example: 彼は何か隠しているようだ。(He seems to be hiding something.)
Softening Statements
Using the grammar to make a statement less blunt or direct.
Example: 少し間違っているようです。(It seems it’s a little bit wrong.)
📊
Frequency
High
🎚️
Difficulty
JLPT N4
Tag:

Related Kanji

JLPT N4 Kanji List

Related Vocabulary

JLPT N4 Vocabulary List
Example Sentences
Example #1
外は雨が降っているようです。
Furigana: 外(そと)は雨(あめ)が降(ふ)っているようです。
Romaji: Soto wa ame ga futte iru you desu.
English: It seems it is raining outside.
Example #2
彼はまだ寝ているようだ。
Furigana: 彼(かれ)はまだ寝(ね)ているようだ。
Romaji: Kare wa mada nete iru you da.
English: It looks like he is still sleeping.
Example #3
この料理はちょっと辛いようです。
Furigana: この料理(りょうり)はちょっと辛(から)いようです。
Romaji: Kono ryouri wa chotto karai you desu.
English: This dish seems a bit spicy.
Example #4
彼女は元気がないようだ。
Furigana: 彼女(かのじょ)は元気(げんき)がないようだ。
Romaji: Kanojo wa genki ga nai you da.
English: She seems to be feeling unwell.
Example #5
明日は忙しくないようです。
Furigana: 明日(あした)は忙(いそが)しくないようです。
Romaji: Ashita wa isogashiku nai you desu.
English: It seems that tomorrow will not be busy.
Example #6
会議はもう終わったようだ。
Furigana: 会議(かいぎ)はもう終(お)わったようだ。
Romaji: Kaigi wa mou owatta you da.
English: It seems the meeting has already finished.
Example #7
誰かが部屋にいたようだ。
Furigana: 誰(だれ)かが部屋(へや)にいたようだ。
Romaji: Dareka ga heya ni ita you da.
English: It appears that someone was in the room.
Example #8
この機械は故障しているようだ。
Furigana: この機械(きかい)は故障(こしょう)しているようだ。
Romaji: Kono kikai wa koshou shite iru you da.
English: This machine seems to be broken.
Example #9
田中さんはお酒が好きなようだ。
Furigana: 田中(たなか)さんはお酒(さけ)が好(す)きなようだ。
Romaji: Tanaka-san wa osake ga suki na you da.
English: It seems Mr. Tanaka likes alcohol.
Example #10
道が込んでいるようだ。
Furigana: 道(みち)が込(こ)んでいるようだ。
Romaji: Michi ga konde iru you da.
English: It looks like the road is crowded.
Notes & Nuances

📌 Important Points

Difference from そうだ (sou da)
‘You da’ is based on logic or evidence, while ‘sou da’ is an immediate visual impression.
Example: 雨が降るようだ。 (It seems like it will rain – based on evidence) vs 雨が降りそうだ。(It looks like it will rain – immediate visual impression)

⚠️ Common Mistakes

❌ 好きようだ (suki you da)
✅ 好きなようだ (suki na you da)
Na-adjectives require ‘na’ before ‘you da’.
❌ 休みようだ (yasumi you da)
✅ 休みのようだ (yasumi no you da)
Nouns require ‘no’ before ‘you da’.

🏛️ Cultural Context

Politeness Level: Medium-High. Using ‘you desu’ is a polite way to avoid being too assertive with one’s opinions.
Social Situations: Appropriate for making guesses about others’ feelings or states without being presumptuous.
Regional Variations: Standard Japanese uses ‘you da’. In Kansai dialect, ‘mitai ya’ is often preferred.

🔍 Subtle Differences

ようだ vs らしい
‘You da’ is based on personal observation; ‘Rashii’ is often based on hearsay or common knowledge.
When to use: Use ‘you da’ when YOU noticed something yourself.
ようだ vs みたいだ
‘Mitai da’ is the informal equivalent of ‘you da’ and is very common in casual speech.
When to use: Use ‘you da’ in writing or polite speech, ‘mitai da’ in casual conversation.

📝 Conjugation Notes

The grammar behaves like a na-adjective. You can say ‘ような’ (noun modifier) or ‘ように’ (adverbial form).

🔊 Pronunciation Tips

Ensure the ‘u’ sound in ‘you’ is long (yōda). Avoid shortening it to ‘yoda’.

🧠 Memory Tips

Think of ‘You’ (様) which means ‘appearance’ or ‘manner’. You are describing the ‘appearance’ of a situation.

Other Grammar

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