~Rashii (Seems to be / to)
Tony : Tonari no heya ni, dare ka iru no ka na – Are there anyone in the room next door?
Kobayashi : Saa – There?
Tony : Koe ga (kiku) kikoenai ka – Can’t you hear the voice?
Kobayashi : Aa, dare ka ga iru rashii desu ne – Oh Yeah, there seems to be someone in there
In the above example, it is obviously that “~Rashii” means “Seems To Be / Seems To”. Let me show you some other examples.
Tony : Kono jidōhanbaiki wa otsuri ga demasen yo
Tony : This vending machine doesn’t dispense change
Murata : Chotto matte kudasai, koshō shite iru rashii desu
Murata : Please wait for a moment, it seems to be out or order (broken down)
Tony : Ano hito wa, sakki kara chizu o (miru) miteimasu ga
Tony : That person is excitedly looking at the map
Kobayashi : Hai, michi ga (wakaru) wakaranai rashii desu
Kobayashi : Yes, he doesn’t seems to know the way
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July 31st, 2008 at 12:29 am
Ne, ano,…anata ha(“wa”) nihonjin desu ka?
July 31st, 2008 at 12:32 am
^_^ hayaku hanashite kudasai ne, onegai
July 16th, 2011 at 2:29 pm
“~Sou” to “~Rashii” to chigai no wa nan desu ka??
Eigo de setsumei shite itadakimasenka?
Arigatou ^^
August 18th, 2011 at 7:49 am
@Evi:
“~Rashii” is based on the speaker’s conjecture. Also it is based on reliable information (usually what he/she has heard). However, it cannot be firsthand information. So you cannot be looking at food and say “おいしいらしい.” When you use “おいしいらしい,” you heard it from a reliable source such as a newspaper review or whatever source you deem reliable. Could also be a friend telling you the food at x place was tasty. Then you tell another person that x place is “おいしいらしい。” because you don’t have any firsthand experience with it but it seems like a good place, based on some reliable information.
There are two “~Sou” grammars in Japanese. I am going to assume that you are speaking about the “~sou” that you use when you see something, and not the hearsay/report “~sou”. The “~sou” grammar you’re comparing with “~rashii” is based on the speaker’s simple guess, and also what he/she sees. You could use this when you see delicious food being displayed or someone eating it in front of you but you haven’t tasted it yet. In that case, you could say, “おいしそうだ。” This “~sou” is used mainly for any kind of visual impressions you have.
I hope this helps. This explanation is based off my sensei’s notes. I will be studying Japanese for the third year now in college. Good luck with your studies!