らしい

らしい has two distinct uses with different grammatical behavior.

SENSE 1 — HEARSAY/INFERENCE:
Attaches to the plain form of verbs and i-adjectives; nouns and な-adjective stems take it directly, without だ (学生(がくせい)らしい, 静(しず)からしい). Indicates the speaker has indirect evidence or heard from someone.

• 雨(あめ)らしい (apparently it's rain / it seems like rain)
• 来(こ)ないらしい (apparently [they] won't come)
• 彼(かれ)は学生(がくせい)らしい (I hear he's a student)

SENSE 2 — TYPICAL OF:
Attaches to nouns. Means "-like" or "befitting."

• 男(おとこ)らしい (manly, befitting a man)
• 子供(こども)らしい (childlike)
• 春(はる)らしい天気(てんき) (weather befitting spring)

Watch out

A noun + らしい can be read either way: 学生(がくせい)らしい means 'apparently a student' or 'like a typical student'. Context decides; 学生(がくせい)であるらしい can only be hearsay.

Similar words

• そうだ (hearsay): I heard that... (reporting what someone said)
• そうだ (appearance): looks like... (based on visual impression)
• ようだ: it appears (based on the speaker's own observation)
• みたいだ: seems like (casual equivalent of ようだ)