〜かのようだ (~ka no yō da) — as if it were (though it isn't)
A level above まるで〜ようだ — the literary 'it isn't so, but as if it were'.
Formula (सूत्र ढाँचा)
Grammar rule (व्याकरण नियम र परिभाषा)
When to use it
- The manager heard about your mistake, but 「何も聞いていなかったかのように、平気な顔で仕事を続けた」— he really had heard, yet acted as if he hadn't.
- On a snowy morning: 「町全体が眠っているかのようだ」— a town does not sleep, but it looks like it.
- Going home after years, your mother starts talking 「まるで昨日会ったかのように」— you did not meet yesterday, but it feels that way.
Meaning
「かのようだ」= 'it is not really so, but as if it were'.
How to attach
- Plain form + かのようだ (sentence end)
- かのように + verb (how)
- かのような + N (what kind)
- な-adjectives and nouns drop 「だ」and use 「である」: 社長であるかのように・本当であるかのような
- It usually comes with 「まるで」.
Versus what you know
- N3The level above 「まるで〜ようだ」(まるで雪のようだ), a bit literary — and it clearly carries 'it is not really so'.
- For light talk with friends 「まるで〜ようだ／みたいだ」; in writing or dramatic speech 「かのようだ」.
Watch out
- Not for guessing something that is really happening — the sky is dark, so say 「雨が降りそうだ／降るようだ」.
- 「降るかのようだ」would mean the opposite: 'it won't rain but looks like it'.
Examples (उदाहरणहरू)
店長は何も聞いていなかったかのように、平気な顔で仕事を続けた。
てんちょうはなにもきいていなかったかのように、へいきなかおでしごとをつづけた。
The manager carried on working with a straight face, as if they hadn't heard a thing.
How it is built (कसरी बन्यो) 聞いていなかった = hadn't heard (普通形) → 「かのように」 = as if that were so (the manager actually had heard) → then what the manager did that way: 仕事を続けた.
久しぶりに国へ帰ると、母はまるで昨日会ったかのように話し始めた。
ひさしぶりにくにへかえると、はははまるできのうあったかのようにはなしはじめた。
When I went home after a long time, my mother started talking as if we had met just yesterday.
How it is built (कसरी बन्यो) 会った = met (Vた) → 「まるで」 in front opens the comparison → 「かのように」 = we didn't meet yesterday, but just as if we had → 話し始めた.
彼は自分が社長であるかのような態度で、みんなに命令する。
かれはじぶんがしゃちょうであるかのようなたいどで、みんなにめいれいする。
He orders everyone around with an attitude as if he were the company president.
How it is built (कसरी बन्यो) 社長 = company president (N) → drop 「だ」 and use 「である」: 社長である → 「かのような」 + N (態度) = he isn't the president, but behaves like one → みんなに命令する.
Knowledge check (मिनी ज्ञान जाँच)
「彼は病気＿かのように、一日中寝ていた。」— fill the blank.
💡 Hint: What replaces 「だ」after a noun?
Nouns and な-adjectives drop 「だ」and take 「である」+ かのように: 病気であるかのように.
In which sentence is 「かのようだ」unnatural?
💡 Hint: Something really about to happen, or 'not so but like it'?
かのようだ = not really so but as if. To guess real rain from a dark sky say 「雨が降りそうだ／降るようだ」.
「子供は死んだかのように眠っている。」— what does it mean?
💡 Hint: 'Not so, but as if'.
かのように = not actually so, but as if — not dead, just sleeping as deeply as if dead.
Your score: /3