JLPT N4 Hearsay, appearance, and feelings
そうだ after a stem means "looks like", but after a plain form it means "I heard", and らしい and と聞いた also report secondhand information. ようだ and casual みたいだ infer from evidence, and がる・たがる describe other people's feelings from the outside. Mixing up the two そうだ patterns is the top mistake at this level.
17 N4 grammar points in this group
そうだ (sou da): looks like; seems about to
Use そうだ when you want to express looks like; seems about to in a Japanese sentence.
このケーキはおいしそうです。 — This cake looks delicious.
そうに / そうな (sou ni sou na): in a way that looks; seeming
Use そうに / そうな when you want to describe how something appears based on visual or sensory evidence.
彼は楽しそうに話しています。 — He is talking happily.
そうだ (sou da): apparently; I hear that
Use そうだ when you want to express apparently; I hear that in a Japanese sentence.
明日は雨が降るそうです。 — I hear it will rain tomorrow.
と聞いた (to kiita): I heard that
Use と聞いた when you want to express I heard that in a Japanese sentence.
田中さんは引っ越したと聞きました。 — I heard that Tanaka moved.
と言われている (to iwarete iru): is said to be
Use と言われている when you want to express is said to be in a Japanese sentence.
この町は安全だと言われています。 — This town is said to be safe.
らしい (rashii): apparently; it seems
Use らしい when you want to express the N4 idea of “seems; apparently; typical of” in natural Japanese.
明日は雨らしいです。 — Apparently it will rain tomorrow.
ようだ (you da): seems; appears to be
Use ようだ when you want to express seems; appears to be in a Japanese sentence.
外は雨が降っているようです。 — It seems to be raining outside.
みたいだ (mitai da): looks like; seems like
1. Inference: “it seems / it looks like.” You have some evidence — something you saw, heard, or noticed — and you draw a conclusion from it. The lights are off and nobody answers the door: 留守みたいだ (they seem to be out). Tanaka-san is coughing: 風邪をひいたみたいだ (looks like he’s caught a cold).
外は雨みたいです。 — It looks like it’s raining outside.
みたいな (mitai na): like; similar to
The pattern is A みたいな B: “a B that is like A.” It has three common uses.
宝くじが当たったの？夢みたいな話だね。 — You won the lottery? That sounds too good to be true.
みたいに (mitai ni): like; similar to
みたいに compares the way something happens to a model or an image.
先生みたいに上手に話したいです。 — I want to speak as well as my teacher.
ように / ような (you ni you na): like; in the way that
Use ように / ような when you want to express like; in the way that in a Japanese sentence.
鳥のように空を飛びたいです。 — I want to fly in the sky like a bird.
に見える (ni mieru): look; appear to be
Use に見える to say what impression something gives when you look at it:
田中さんは今日、元気に見えますね。 — Tanaka-san looks well today.
がする (ga suru): sense a sound, smell, taste, or feeling
The pattern is sensation noun + が + する. English usually needs a verb of perception (“I hear,” “it smells,” “it tastes”) or a “there is” sentence. Japanese simply states that the sensation is happening.
台所からいいにおいがします。 — Something smells good in the kitchen.
に気がつく (ni ki ga tsuku): notice; become aware
Use に気がつく when you want to express the N4 idea of “to notice; to realize” in natural Japanese.
間違いに気がつきました。 — I noticed the mistake.
がる / がっている (garu gatteiru): show signs of feeling
Feeling words like 寒い, 痛い, 怖い, 欲しい and 嫌 describe the speaker’s own inner state.
子どもが新しいおもちゃを欲しがっています。 — The child is desperate to have the new toy.
がり (gari): tends to feel or act that way
がり comes from the verb がる (“to show signs of feeling ~”). Take the verb’s stem and you get a noun: 寒がる → 寒がり. The meaning shifts from “is acting cold” to “is the kind of person who gets cold.
私は寒がりなので、夏でもカーディガンを持ち歩いています。 — I always feel cold, so I carry a cardigan even in summer.
たがる (tagaru): someone seems to want to
Use たがる when you want to express that someone else seems to want to do something. You describe the desire from the outside, based on visible signs or behavior.
弟は外で遊びたがっています。 — My little brother wants to play outside.
Often confused in this group
- そうだ vs ようだ vs らしい vs みたい — そうだ is what something looks like (or what you heard), ようだ/みたい are your own inference, らしい is secondhand. 雨が降りそうだ vs 雨が降るそうだ.
More JLPT N4 grammar groups
- Conditionals and decisions (11)
- Giving, receiving, requests, and keigo (15)
- Passive, causative, and permission (12)
- Te-form helpers for real conversation (15)
- Time, timing, and sequence (17)
- Plans, intention, and change (8)
- Soft examples, lists, and limits (13)
- Guessing, certainty, and wondering (11)
- Nominalizers, quoting, and comparison (14)