～ような
like / similar to
～ような is the noun-modifying form of ようだ. It links a comparison or an example to the noun that follows: A のような B means “a B like A” or “a B such as A”.
A whole clause can also come before ような, describing what the noun is like or seems like.
1. Simile: “like a ...”
Use Noun + のような + Noun to say one thing resembles another.
夢のような話だ。
“It’s a story like a dream.”
- 夢（ゆめ）= dream
- の = links the noun to ような
- ような = like / resembling (modifies the next noun)
- 話（はなし）= story
- だ = is (plain copula)
2. Giving an example: “such as ...”
The same form can introduce a representative example rather than a resemblance.
京都のような古い町が好きだ。
“I like old towns like Kyoto.”
- 京都（きょうと）= Kyoto
- のような = like / such as
- 古い（ふるい）= old
- 町（まち）= town
- が = subject marker (marks what is liked)
- 好きだ（すきだ）= like
Note the difference from its adverbial partner ～ように: ような modifies a noun (夢のような話, “a dream-like story”), while ように modifies a verb or adjective (鳥のように飛ぶ, “fly like a bird”).
How to form it
Noun + の + ような + Noun, or plain clause + ような + Noun
- 夢（ゆめ）= dream → 夢のような話（ゆめのようなはなし）= a story like a dream
- 子供（こども）= child → 子供のような顔（こどものようなかお）= a childlike face
- 誰でも分かる（だれでもわかる）= anyone can understand → 誰でも分かるような説明（だれでもわかるようなせつめい）= an explanation that anyone can understand
Key idea
～ような hangs a comparison or example onto a noun: whatever comes before ような tells you what the following noun is like.
Built on the same stem
Updated .