みたい

Japanese

Etymology 1

Shift from earlier 見たよう (mita yō, literally “as if [I] had seen”). Appears from the middle of the Meiji period.

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) みたい [mìtáí] (Heiban – [0])
• IPA^(key): [mʲita̠i]

Adjective

みたい • (mitai) -na (adnominal みたいな (mitai na), adverbial みたいに (mitai ni))

1. (auxiliary) appended after the noun to mean -like, resembling

   木(き)村(むら)拓(たく)哉(や)みたいな人(ひと)を見(み)た。

   Kimura Takuya mitai na hito o mita.

   [I] saw someone resembling Takuya Kimura.

   私(わたし)は馬(ば)鹿(か)みたいですね。

   Watashi wa baka mitai desu ne.

   I seem like a fool.

   君(きみ)はまるで天(てん)使(し)みたいに笑(わら)う。

   Kimi wa maru de tenshi mitai ni warau.

   You smile just like an angel.

Usage notes

• This term sounds similar to 見たい (mitai, “want to see”), the desiderative form of 見(み)る (miru, “to see”). However, this みたい (mitai) with the sense of "resemblance" is distinguished by the following characteristics:
  • It is always written entirely in hiragana.
  • It is pronounced with a flat pitch accent, without a downstep. The desiderative 見たい (mitai) has a downstep after the second syllable.
  • Similar to よう (yō), みたい (mitai) inflects as a 形容動詞 (keiyō dōshi, “-na adjective”) instead of a 形容詞 (keiyōshi, “-i adjective”). In contrast, 見たい (mitai), らしい (rashii), and っぽい (ppoi) all use the 形容詞 (keiyōshi, “-i adjective”) inflection pattern.

Inflection

Inflection of みたい

Stem forms
Imperfective (未然形)	みたいだろ	mitai daro
Continuative (連用形)	みたいで	mitai de
Terminal (終止形)	みたいだ	mitai da
Attributive (連体形)	みたいな	mitai na
Hypothetical (仮定形)	みたいなら	mitai nara
Imperative (命令形)	みたいであれ	mitai de are
Key constructions
Informal negative	みたいではない みたいじゃない	mitai de wa nai mitai ja nai
Informal past	みたいだった	mitai datta
Informal negative past	みたいではなかった みたいじゃなかった	mitai de wa nakatta mitai ja nakatta
Formal	みたいです	mitai desu
Formal negative	みたいではありません みたいじゃありません	mitai de wa arimasen mitai ja arimasen
Formal past	みたいでした	mitai deshita
Formal negative past	みたいではありませんでした みたいじゃありませんでした	mitai de wa arimasen deshita mitai ja arimasen deshita
Conjunctive	みたいで	mitai de
Conditional	みたいなら（ば）	mitai nara (ba)
Provisional	みたいだったら	mitai dattara
Volitional	みたいだろう	mitai darō
Adverbial	みたいに	mitai ni
Degree	みたいさ	mitaisa

Synonyms

• よう (yō)
• らしい (rashii)
• っぽい (ppoi)

Etymology 2

The desiderative inflection of the verb 見る (miru, “to see”).

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) みたい [mìtáꜜì] (Nakadaka – [2])
• IPA^(key): [mʲita̠i]

Verb

みたい • (mitai) 

1. desiderative form of 見る: want to see something
2. (auxiliary) (appended after the conjunctive or -te form of a verb) want to try to do something

   死(し)ぬまで君(きみ)と生(い)きてみたいよ

   shinu made kimi to ikite mitai yo

   Until death I want to try to live with you

   怪(あや)しい扉(とびら)を開(あ)けてみたくないよ

   ayashī tobira o akete mitakunai yo

   I don't want to try to open the weird door!

Usage notes

• Although this is a form of the verb 見る (miru, “to see”), when used as an auxiliary, it is almost always written entirely in hiragana.
• This auxiliary usage implies that the action has never been attempted by the subject.
• As with all -tai desideratives, this inflects as a 形容詞 (keiyōshi, “-i adjective”).

Inflection

Inflection of みたい

Stem forms
Imperfective (未然形)	みたかろ	mitakaro
Continuative (連用形)	みたく	mitaku
Terminal (終止形)	みたい	mitai
Attributive (連体形)	みたい	mitai
Hypothetical (仮定形)	みたけれ	mitakere
Imperative (命令形)	みたかれ	mitakare
Key constructions
Informal negative	みたくない	mitaku nai
Informal past	みたかった	mitakatta
Informal negative past	みたくなかった	mitaku nakatta
Formal	みたいです	mitai desu
Formal negative	みたくないです	mitaku nai desu
Formal past	みたかったです	mitakatta desu
Formal negative past	みたくなかったです	mitaku nakatta desu
Conjunctive	みたくて	mitakute
Conditional	みたければ	mitakereba
Provisional	みたかったら	mitakattara
Volitional	みたかろう	mitakarō
Adverbial	みたく	mitaku
Degree	みたさ	mitasa