～みたいな

About

～みたいな ("like") can be used to create comparisons that are similar to similes in English. When the な particle is attached to みたい in this way, it indicates that it is modifying a noun.

E.g. 鳥とりみたいな形かたち "a shape like a bird"

Usually, みたいな is directly followed by the noun it is modifying, but there may occasionally be extra information in between.

～みたいな can directly follow verbs, adjectives, and nouns, and is more casual than ～ような.

Summary

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  ～みたいな means "like" and is used to create comparisons

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  ～みたいな indicates that the following word is a noun