～よう: How "Like / So That" Becomes a Clause Connector in Japanese (ようになる, ようにする, ように, ような)
The ～よう subordinator turns a whole clause into "the way / state that ~." The main verb then transitions into that state (ようになる), arranges for it (ようにする), matches it (ように), or resembles it (ような).1 If you have only met ように as "in order to," this is the missing map: one manner-nominal that quietly powers four of the most common patterns in intermediate Japanese.
Overview
These four patterns are usually taught separately, each as its own N4 grammar point. That hides the fact that they share a single core.2345 Once you understand that core, you can derive the difference between ように, ような, ようになる, and ようにする instead of memorizing it.
Major references most often tag these patterns as N4. This article unifies them at the N3 stage.23456 The JLPT publishes no official grammar list, so any level label is based on references rather than an official source.
One core idea: よう is a "manner / appearance" nominal
The kanji 様 (read よう, also さま) carries the senses "way, manner, situation." As a suffix, it glosses "manner of ...; way of ...".7 It is a Jōyō grade-3 kanji, meaning it appears in Japan's official list of commonly used kanji.7
A nominalizer is a word that turns a verb or clause into something that behaves like a noun. よう does this with a specific flavour: it packages a clause as a state or manner. Japanese has two other common nominalizers, こと (fact) and の (event). よう sits alongside them as the manner-and-state member.
Imabi describes the noun 様 as carrying "the literal, utmost basic meaning of 'state/condition.'" It treats that foundational sense as what lets both ～ようになる and ～ようにする express changes in circumstance.1 Read this way, every よう in this article means "the state / manner of X." The particle that follows decides what the main verb does with it.
The diagram below shows how the single 様 "manner / state" core fans out into the four patterns through the choice of particle and main verb. A picture makes this branching shape faster to grasp than prose.
The four patterns at a glance
Here is one representative example per pattern. The full treatment of each appears in "The four uses in depth" below.
| Pattern | Particle + main word | Core meaning |
|---|---|---|
| ようになる | に + なる | come to / change of state |
| ようにする | に + する | make sure to / arrange so |
| ように | に + verb | in the way that / as / like |
| ような | な + noun | like / such as (modifies a noun) |
やっと自転車に乗れるようになりました。2
"I finally became able to ride a bicycle."
明日早く起きるようにする。3
"I'll make sure to get up early tomorrow."
あなたが言ったように、事故が起こった。4
"An accident happened just as you said."
スープのようなカレー。5
"Soup-like curry."
What this article does NOT cover
Three patterns share the shape よう but are separate forms with their own dedicated articles. This article points you to those articles rather than re-teaching them.
Evidential ～ようだ ("it seems / it appears," an inference from evidence) is a different function. There, よう reports the speaker's judgement about reality, not a state the main verb targets. Its casual counterpart, ～みたい, works the same way. The full "so that / in order to" purpose sense of ～ように also has its own home and gets only a single boundary example here. The volitional ～よう / ～おう ("let's / I'll") is a separate conjugation entirely.
The weight of this article stays on ようになる, ようにする, manner ように, and adnominal ような.
Form and attachment
Verbs before よう
A verb attaches in its plain non-past form: dictionary form, ない-form, or potential form. It is then followed by ように / ような / ようになる / ようにする.423 Bunpro gives the structure as "Verb + よう + に + Verb/Adjective" and "Verb + よう + な + Noun."4
Potential and non-volitional verbs dominate ように and ようになる for a structural reason. Imabi states that the embedded clause of ようになる must describe a state with "no inherent progression" that arises "without active volitional input by an agent." In practice, the canonical environments are potential forms, thought verbs, passive subjects, and inanimate subjects.1 This is why capability verbs such as 乗れる, 飲める, and 食べられる appear so often before ようになる.28
やっと自転車に乗れるようになりました。2
"I finally became able to ride a bicycle."
明日早く起きるようにする。3
"I'll make sure to get up early tomorrow."
Adjectives and nouns before よう
A noun attaches with の. In the resemblance sense, の links a noun to よう, as in スープのよう ("like soup").5 Bunpro gives "Noun + のように + Verb/Adjective" and "Noun + のような + Noun."5 A な-adjective behaves like a noun here and takes the same attachment pattern, so it folds into this rule rather than forming a separate one.
A plain verb or い-adjective can also sit directly before ような, as in 食べすぎたような顔 ("a face like someone who overate") or 驚くような景色 ("breathtaking scenery").4
スープのようなカレー。5
"Soup-like curry."
彼は食べすぎたような顔をしている。4
"He looks like he ate too much."
ように vs ような: adverbial vs adnominal
The に / な alternation sends the same nominal in two directions. ように ends in に and modifies a verb or clause (adverbial). ような ends in な and modifies a noun (adnominal).45
The split is mechanical: if a noun follows, use ような; if a verb or adjective follows, use ように.4
あなたが言ったように、事故が起こった。4
"An accident happened just as you said."
驚くような景色を見た。4
"I saw the kind of scenery that surprises you."
The four uses in depth
ようになる: come to / reach the state where
ようになる means "to reach the point that; to come to be that; to turn into ~."2 The change is non-volitional and usually gradual. It comes about without the subject's choice, unlike the conscious arrangement that ようにする carries.18
たくさん勉強したので、日本語を話せるようになりました。2
"I studied a lot, so I became able to speak Japanese."
以前はビールを飲めなかったが、このごろ飲むようになりました。2
"Before, I couldn't drink beer, but these days I've come to drink it."
The natural negative of a change of state is ～なくなる ("come to no longer ~ / lose an ability"), not ～ないようになる. Nihongo Kyoshi Net directly pairs ようになる (acquiring an ability or entering a state) with なくなる (losing an ability or ceasing one).8
最近、納豆が食べられるようになりました。8
"Recently, I've become able to eat natto."
学校を卒業してからは、もう英語を勉強していないので、話せなくなりました。8
"Since graduating, I no longer study English, so I've become unable to speak it."
ようにする: make sure to / try to / make it so
ようにする means "to try to; to make sure that ~."3 Unlike ようになる, it is volitional: the subject actively arranges things. Imabi splits the usage in two: actively building a habit ("try to...") and arranging circumstances so a condition holds ("make it so that...").1
The continuous form ようにしている marks an established habit or current practice. Plain ようにする, by contrast, can express a one-off resolve.3
毎日歩くようにしている。3
"I make a point of walking every day."
就職してからは、毎日新聞を読むようにしています。3
"Since starting work, I make a point of reading the newspaper every day."
The negative is ～ないようにする, "make an effort not to."3
今日からお酒を飲まないようにします。3
"From today I'll make sure not to drink alcohol."
The continuous ようにしている frames a behaviour as a maintained practice rather than a finished act. "I walk every day" states a fact; 毎日歩くようにしている says you keep yourself walking every day as a deliberate routine.3
ように (manner / exemplifying / instruction): "in the way that", "as", "like"
This ように expresses similarity or comparison. A clause plus ように means "in the way that / as ~." It reports the manner in which the main event occurs or matches a stated reference, often a quoted statement such as "as you said."4 It is distinct from purpose ように, which is treated below as a boundary case.
あなたが言ったように、事故が起こった。4
"An accident happened just as you said."
君が言うように綺麗ですね。4
"It's beautiful, just as you say."
十代に戻ったように楽しかった。4
"It was fun, as if I'd gone back to being a teenager."
In formal and written Japanese, presentational manner forms such as 以下のように ("as below") and 上述のように ("as stated above") use this same manner-ように to point the reader to a reference. They belong to written and presentational register rather than everyday speech.
ような (adnominal): "like", "such as", "the kind of"
ような modifies a noun with a resemblance sense. It does the same noun-modifying job as a relative clause. Noun + のような + Noun gives "a (noun) like (noun)," and Verb + ような + Noun gives "the kind of (noun) that (verb)."54
スープのようなカレー。5
"Soup-like curry."
このような洋服を探しています。5
"I'm looking for clothes like these."
The adnominal form also drives example lists. In that use, ような marks one or more nouns as samples of a wider category, as in "fruit such as apples and oranges."
驚くような景色を見た。4
"I saw breathtaking scenery."
Cross-link: purpose ように "so that / in order to"
Purpose ように means "so that / in order to" and attaches to a potential or negative (non-volitional) verb in the subordinate clause.6 This sense has its own dedicated treatment in the article titled "～ように: How to Say "So That" / "In Order To" in Japanese." Only one boundary example appears here, so a searcher landing on this page is routed rather than re-taught.
大事なことを忘れないようにいつもメモをしている。6
"I always take notes so that I won't forget important things."
Nuance and usage contexts
ようになる / ようにする vs ことになる / ことにする
よう and こと both nominalize, but along different axes. よう frames a manner, ability, or state. こと frames a fact or a decision. The following なる marks a non-volitional outcome, while する marks a volitional choice.18 Imabi notes that よう can frame state transitions and intentional arrangement, which it treats as distinct from こと's nominalization.1
So ようになる is "come to be able / enter a state." ことになる is closer to "it has been decided / it works out that." The こと side has its own dedicated article, so it is only contrasted here rather than re-taught.
ように (purpose) vs ために (purpose) vs ような (resemblance)
The trigger verb selects which purpose marker is grammatical. ために takes a volitional verb in the aim clause. ように takes a non-volitional verb, including potential forms.9 ように also permits the aim clause and the main clause to have different subjects. ために requires matching subjects for a volitional aim. Around ambiguous verbs such as なる, the two can overlap.9
大事なことを忘れないようにいつもメモをしている。6
"I always take notes so that I won't forget important things."
In that example, the verb 忘れない is negative and non-volitional, so ように is required. ために would be ungrammatical by the volitional-verb rule.9 Resemblance ような is not a purpose marker at all: it modifies a noun and expresses likeness, never aim.45
Register and writing-style notes
The presentational forms 以下のように and 上述のように belong to formal, written register and are standard in essays, reports, and reference prose where the writer points the reader to a figure, list, or earlier passage.
Good to know
The 様 (よう) etymology that unifies all four
The kanji 様 (よう / さま) means "way, manner, situation." As a suffix, it glosses "manner of ...; way of ...".7 Imabi reduces this to the core sense "state / condition," which it identifies as what licenses both ～ようになる and ～ようにする.1
This matters because if you read every よう as "the manner / state of X," you can derive all four jobs from one idea: aim at a state (purpose), match a state (manner), be like a state (resemblance), and transition into a state (change of state). That is easier than memorizing four separate rules.17
Three よう that are NOT this article
The subordinator family here, ように / ような / ようになる / ようにする, is a manner-nominal plus に or な.45 Three other patterns share the shape よう, but they are entirely separate forms. Each has its own home article.
The volitional ～よう / ～おう ("let's / I'll") is a verb conjugation. It is covered in the article on the plain volitional form. The evidential ～ようだ ("it seems / it appears") is an evidence-based inference, covered in the article on ～ようだ resemblance and inference. The wish ～ますように ("I hope that ~") is a fixed expression, covered with the purpose ように material.
Recognizing the よう shape is not enough; the surrounding particles and the meaning decide which form you are looking at.
ないようにする vs ～ないように: the negative trap
The same negation can attach to either pattern, and its position changes the meaning. With effort ようにする, the negative is ～ないようにする, "make an effort not to," with ない on the embedded verb.
今日からお酒を飲まないようにします。3
"From today I'll make sure not to drink alcohol."
With change-of-state ようになる, the idiomatic negative is not ～ないようになる but ～なくなる, "come to no longer ~."
話せなくなりました。8
"I've become unable to speak it."
The reason is the volitionality split. ようにする is volitional, so you arrange the negative effort, and the negation sits on the embedded verb (飲まない + ようにする). ようになる is non-volitional change, and the idiomatic negative of "come to be able" is "come to no longer," realized as ～なくなる.83
See also
- Japanese Subordinate Clauses: How Embedded Clauses Work (Relative, Complement, Quotation, Embedded Question)
- Inferential Suffixes in Japanese: ～そう, ～よう, ～らしい, ～みたい Compared
- ～ように: How to Say "So That" / "In Order To" in Japanese
- ～ようだ (Formal): Resemblance and Evidence-Based Inference in Japanese
- ～ことにする / ～ことになる: Decide vs. It Was Decided