مثل اینکه

It Looks Like with مثل اینکه

Level 4

The sentence after مثل اینکه keeps its ordinary verb, in the present, the perfect or the past.

How It Works

مثل means "like" and اینکه means "that", so مثل اینکه means "like that …". Dari uses it for "it looks like".

ClueExample
something you seeمثل اینکه موترم دوباره خراب شده است.
something you hearمثل اینکه باران قطع شده است.
something you work outمثل اینکه فرید خانه نیست؛ دروازه بسته است.

The sentence after مثل اینکه keeps its normal verb: the present for what is true now, the perfect (شده است) for a result you can see, or the simple past for something done. Its subject can be any person: مثل اینکه شما هم از بامیان استید.

Use اینکه when a whole sentence follows. Before a noun, مثل stands alone and means "like": مثل پدرش (like his father).

انگار is a shorter word for the same idea: انگار باران می‌بارد.

Both مثل اینکه and به نظر می‌رسد که give a guess from what you can see or hear.

Examples (5)

  1. مثل اینکه امروز بازار بسته است.

    It looks like the market is closed today.

    A whole sentence, بازار بسته است, follows مثل اینکه.

  2. مثل اینکه فرید خانه نیست؛ دروازه بسته است.

    It looks like Farid isn't home; the door is closed.

    The closed door is the clue behind the guess.

  3. مثل اینکه باران قطع شده است.

    It looks like the rain has stopped.

    A perfect verb, قطع شده است, follows مثل اینکه for a result you can see.

  4. مثل اینکه شما هم از بامیان استید.

    It looks like you are from Bamiyan too.

    The sentence after مثل اینکه can have any subject, here شما.

  5. مثل اینکه موترم دوباره خراب شده است.

    It looks like my car has broken down again.

    The guess is about a result: خراب شده است.

Common Mistakes

  • Leaving out اینکه before a whole sentence.

    مثل باران قطع شده است.
    مثل اینکه باران قطع شده است.

    مثل alone means "like" and takes a noun. For a whole sentence, use مثل اینکه.

  • Using مثل اینکه before a single noun.

    او مثل اینکه پدرش گپ می‌زند.
    او مثل پدرش گپ می‌زند.

    For "like" with a noun, use مثل alone.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

مثل اینکهLevel 4It Looks Like with مثل اینکه

Learn This First

مثل اینکه is built on مثل and says how something seems.

Words in This Pattern

انگار