Examples
Meaning
〜らしい has two major uses. It can mean seems or apparently based on information, and it can mean typical of when describing a characteristic.
Formation
Attach らしい to a plain-form clause or noun. In polite speech, use らしいです. For the typical-of meaning, nouns often appear before らしい, such as 春らしい天気.
Usage
Use 〜らしい when you infer something from information, rumors, or indirect evidence. Also use it when saying something fits the nature or image of a person, season, place, or role.
Nuance
For inference, 〜らしい often sounds less directly sourced than hearsay 〜そうだ. For typicality, it has a positive or neutral sense of being characteristic, such as a spring-like day.
Comparison
Compared with 〜みたいだ, 〜らしい often depends more on information or typical character. Compared with hearsay 〜そうだ, it can sound more like the speaker is drawing a conclusion from available information.
Common Mistakes
A common mistake is using 〜らしい for any kind of visual appearance. If you simply mean it looks delicious, おいしそう is better than おいしいらしい unless you heard that it is delicious.
Related Grammar
〜そうだ（伝聞）
〜そうだ in the hearsay sense means I heard that or it is said that. It reports information from another source.
〜ようだ
〜ようだ expresses inference or resemblance. It is often used when something seems true based on evidence or when something is like something else.
〜みたいだ
〜みたいだ means seems like or looks like. It is a conversational pattern used for inference and resemblance.
〜そう・〜よう・〜みたい・〜らしいの違い
This comparison page organizes 〜そう, 〜よう, 〜みたい, and 〜らしい so learners can distinguish appearance, inference, hearsay, and typicality.