Meaning

Primary

To Resemble

Alternative

To Look Like

Word Type

intransitive verb, ichidan verb

Explanation

Because the hiragana ends with an sound, you know this word is a verb. The kanji itself means resemble so the verb vocab version is to resemble or to look like.

Reading

にる
  • Kyoko
    (Tokyo accent, female)
  • Kenichi
    (Tokyo accent, male)

Explanation

You should have learned this reading with the kanji, but here's a mnemonic to help you, just in case:

What are you trying to resemble?? Is that... oh no. A knee () face resemble surgery, where you make your face look like your knee and vice versa? Do you know how dangerous that surgery is?

Context

Context Sentences

最初はお母さんに似ていると思っていたけど、だんだんお父さんにも似てきたね!

At first I thought she looked like her mother, but then she started to look like her father too!

このズボン、私がずっと探してたズボンに似てる。

These pants look like the ones I've been trying to find for a while.

お前が彼女の兄貴だって?嘘つけ!全然似てないじゃねえか。

Are you telling me that you’re her brother? Liar! You look nothing like each other.

Kanji Composition