らしい details
write + apparently
kaku rashii
apparently; I gather; typical of
meaning: will apparently write
部長は来月大阪に転勤するらしい。
buchou wa raigetsu oosaka ni tenkinsuru rashii.
The department head will apparently transfer to Osaka next month. neutral
今日は春らしい天気ですね。
kyou wa haru rashii tenki desu ne.
The weather today is just what spring should be, isn't it? neutral
- past
- polite
Examples
apparently; I gather — inference resting on what one has heard or picked up
部長は来月大阪に転勤するらしい。
buchou wa raigetsu oosaka ni tenkinsururashii.
The department head will apparently transfer to Osaka next month. neutral
隣のクラス、明日は休みらしいよ。
tonari no kurasu, ashita wa yasumi rashii yo.
Apparently the class next door has tomorrow off. casual
typical of; true to — N らしい praising something for being properly N-like
今日は春らしい天気ですね。
kyou wa haru rashii tenki desu ne.
The weather today is just what spring should be, isn't it? neutral
最後まで諦めないなんて、彼女らしいね。
saigo made akiramenai nante, kanojo rashii ne.
Not giving up till the very end — that's just like her. casual
Formation
{V}らしいattaches to dictionary form{N}らしいattaches to nounna-adj (stem) + らしい — 元気らしいattaches to na-adjectiveplain clause + らしいattaches to plain clause
Notes
Related patterns
Similar
The two casual "seems" — みたいだ happily builds on first-hand impressions and doubles as a simile (子供みたいだ "like a child"), while らしい implies the grounds came from elsewhere and after nouns means "true to type" (子供らしい "properly childlike").
Both pass on secondhand information, but そうだ relays a specific report almost verbatim (a source you could name), while らしい blends hearsay with the speaker's own inference and stays vague about where it came from.
Both render "seems", but ようだ marks the speaker's own inference from evidence at hand, while らしい points to outside information — and after nouns らしい can flip to "typical of" (春らしい), a reading ようだ never has.