seems like, looks like, is like

みたいだ is the conversational equivalent of ようだ, attaching directly to plain forms, nouns, and na-adjective stems. It covers both conjecture (it seems cold) and similarity (like a fish). In formal writing prefer ようだ.

Examples

• 外そとは寒さむいみたいです。

  Soto wa samui mitai desu.

  It seems cold outside.

• 彼かれは魚さかなみたいに上手じょうずに泳およぎます。

  Kare wa sakana mitai ni jouzu ni oyogimasu.

  He swims skillfully, like a fish.

Vocabulary in these examples

• 外 outside
• 寒い cold (weather)
• 彼 he, him
• 魚 fish
• 上手 good at; skillful
• 泳ぐ to swim

Related patterns · Appearance, hearsay, and conjecture

• 〜そうだ（様態） looks like, seems about to
• 〜そうだ（伝聞） I heard that, they say that
• 〜ようだ it seems that, it appears that
• 〜らしい apparently, it seems (based on what one heard)
• 〜がる / 〜がっている to show signs of (another person's feeling)
• 〜かもしれない might, may, possibly