Word
似る
Meaning in Englishresemble, be similar
Animated kanji stroke order
Sentence
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Word context
What it means
What does 似る mean? It means to resemble, to look like, or be similar to something. The core concept is signaling likeness in appearance or character, typically with に to mark the target and いる to express the ongoing state.
Main meanings
- Resemblance in appearance or form between two or more people or things
- Similarity in character, traits, or situations
- Used with the pattern に似る to indicate the object that resembles the subject
How to use it
Common in both casual and formal speech. Use with に to specify what is being resembled, and with ている for ongoing resemblance. Examples in Japanese: 私は父に似る, 彼女は猫に似ている, この人は有名人に似ている.
Variants and close terms
- そっくりだ — sokkuri da
- よく似ている — yoku nite iru
Composition
- 似 expresses the idea of likeness; る marks the verb form indicating current state or presence of resemblance
Etymology
似 (ni) is a native kanji meaning likeness; the verb 似る (ni-ru) uses the kun reading ni-ru, illustrating a typical native reading pattern for kanji that signal resemblance; there is no foreign phonetic borrowing in this verb.
Word class
verb (五段動詞)
Kanji