らしい

らしい functions as an い-adjective in terms of conjugation. It is used in two distinct ways:

1. Conjecture/Hearsay ('Apparently')
This expresses a judgment based on information from an outside source or indirect signs. It is often used with adverbs like どうやら (somehow/it seems).

• Verbs/I-Adjectives: Attach to the plain form (e.g., 降るらしい（ふるらしい）, 高いらしい（たかいらしい）).
• Nouns/Na-Adjectives: For non-past affirmative, attach directly, dropping the casual copula (e.g., 休みらしい（やすみらしい）, 静からしい（しずからしい）). For past or negative, retain the plain form (e.g., 休みだったらしい（やすみだったらしい） - 'I heard it was a day off', 静かじゃないらしい（しずかじゃないらしい） - 'I heard it is not quiet').

Note: For the hearsay meaning, the tense is typically expressed by the preceding verb rather than らしい itself (e.g., 降ったらしい（ふったらしい） - 'I heard it rained'). To negate the hearsay, you negate the preceding verb (e.g., 来ないらしい（こないらしい） - 'I heard they aren't coming'). You can also use 〜らしく as a conjunction to link sentences (e.g., 風邪を引いたらしく、熱がある（かぜをひいたらしく、ねつがある） - 'It seems I caught a cold, and I have a fever'). Crucially, this differs from そう. While そう is pure hearsay (simply passing along a message without personal judgment), らしい involves the speaker's own conjecture based on indirect evidence or what they heard.

2. Typicality ('Typical of / Befitting')
When attached directly to a noun, it means the subject possesses the typical or expected qualities of that noun. Crucially, this usually implies the subject is actually a member of that category. (A common exception is seasons: for example, 春らしい天気（はるらしいてんき - spring-like weather）can be used in late winter when the weather embodies the idealized essence of spring, even if it is not technically spring yet.) This contrasts with みたい, よう, and 〜っぽい. While みたい, よう, and 〜っぽい are commonly used when the subject is NOT a member (e.g., an adult acting like a child), they can also be used for actual members to express mere objective resemblance or stereotypical (often negative) traits. In contrast, らしい expresses embodying the typical or expected characteristics of the noun. For categorical nouns (like 子供, 男, 女), this almost exclusively carries a positive, idealized connotation. For example, 子供らしい（こどもらしい） means 'typical of a child' in a positive sense (e.g., energetic and innocent, applied to an actual child), whereas 子供っぽい（こどもっぽい） applied to an adult means they are acting childishly, and applied to an actual child might imply they are throwing a tantrum. Negative typicality usually only applies to specific people/pronouns (e.g., 彼らしい（かれらしい） - 'typical of him', even if it's a bad habit) or inherently negative nouns (e.g., 悪人らしい手口（あくにんらしいてぐち） - 'a method typical of a villain'). Note: Words like 男らしい（おとこらしい） and 女らしい（おんならしい） have become lexicalized adjectives and are exceptions that can cross gender lines (e.g., 男らしい女性（おとこらしいじょせい） - a brave/manly woman).

Conjugation & Politeness:
To make らしい polite, simply add です.

• Noun Modification: 〜らしい + Noun (e.g., 子供らしい行動（こどもらしいこうどう） - 'childlike behavior')
• Negative: 〜らしくない (Not like... / Not typical of...)
• Past: 〜らしかった (Used for Typicality, e.g., 彼は子供らしかった（かれはこどもらしかった） - 'He was childlike'. Past conjecture is usually expressed with the preceding verb, e.g., 降ったらしい（ふったらしい）)
• Adverbial: 〜らしく (In a way befitting... / Also used as a hearsay conjunction)