音読み: ジ
訓読み: にる
画数: 7
部首: 亻（にんべん）
Meaning
Resemble / Similar / Imitate
- Basic forms
- 似る — to resemble; be similar to / base form
- 似ます — resembles; is similar to / masu form
- 似た — resembled; was similar to / ta-form
- 似て — resembling; being similar and … / te-form
- 似ない — does not resemble / negative
- 似れば — if it resembles / conditional
- Common uses
- 母に似る — resemble one’s mother
- 顔が似ている — have similar faces
- More
- よく似ている — look very similar
- 全然似ていない — not similar at all
似る（にる） is an ichidan verb. It is used to express **similarity or resemblance**, often followed by に (e.g. 人に似る — resemble someone).
- 類似 — resemblance / similarity
- 近似 — approximation
- 相似 — similarity (geometry, concept)
- 似合う — to suit / to match
- 真似 — imitation / mimicry
- 疑似 — pseudo- / false
The kanji 似 combines the “person” radical 亻 with the phonetic element 以. It originally referred to behaving like or being similar to someone.
Today it appears in many words describing visual likeness or conceptual resemblance, both in daily life and in academic contexts.
彼は 父に 似ています。
He resembles his father.
双子は 顔が 似ています。
The twins look alike.
類似 — resemblance / similarity