The formal noun よう（様） means "a way, a manner, an appearance" — and from that single seed grows one of the most productive idiom clusters in intermediate Japanese. Doing something so that a certain state holds (purpose), in the manner of something else (simile), making things be a certain way (effort), coming to be a certain way (change), or telling someone to be a certain way (indirect command): every one is よう plus a small tail. This page is your map of the whole family, with the load-bearing contrast — ようにする (you work at it) versus ようになる (it comes about on its own) — at the centre. That する-vs-なる axis is the same one that splits ことにする from ことになる, so once you feel it here, both families click together.
The cluster at a glance
| Idiom | よう as… | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 〜ように (+ potential/negative) | so that a state holds | purpose — "so that / in order that" |
| 〜ような / 〜ように (+ noun) | in the manner of | simile — "like / as if" |
| 〜ようにする | make things be that way | deliberate effort — "try to / make a point of" |
| 〜ようになる | come to be that way | change of state/ability — "come to / reach the point where" |
| 〜ように言う | tell someone to be that way | indirect command — "tell / ask to" |
〜ように — purpose ("so that")
Attach ように to a verb that describes a goal state you don't directly control — a potential form (見える, 読める, 聞こえる), a negative (忘れない, 遅れない), or an intransitive/state verb (治る, 間に合う) — and the clause becomes "so that [that state] comes about." You do the main action; ように names the result you're aiming for.
子供でも読めるように、大きな字で書いた。
kodomo demo yomeru yō ni, ōkina ji de kaita
I wrote it in big letters so that even a child could read it.
忘れないように、手にメモした。
wasurenai yō ni, te ni memo shita
I jotted a note on my hand so I wouldn't forget.
後ろの席まで聞こえるように、大きな声で話してください。
ushiro no seki made kikoeru yō ni, ōkina koe de hanashite kudasai
Please speak loudly so it can be heard in the back rows too.
〜ような / 〜ように — simile ("like")
With a noun in front, よう keeps its plain "manner/appearance" meaning and builds a comparison. 〜ような modifies a following noun ("a ~-like X"); 〜ように modifies a verb ("in a ~ way").
彼女は花のような笑顔で笑った。
kanojo wa hana no yō na egao de waratta
She smiled a flowerlike smile.
鳥のように空を自由に飛びたい。
tori no yō ni sora o jiyū ni tobitai
I want to fly freely through the sky like a bird.
〜ようにする — deliberate effort ("try to")
Add する and you take charge: you make an effort to bring the state about. 〜ようにする is a single push ("I'll make sure to…"); the stative 〜ようにしている is a cultivated habit ("I make a point of…").
健康のために、野菜を食べるようにしています。
kenkō no tame ni, yasai o taberu yō ni shite imasu
For my health, I try to eat vegetables regularly.
明日は遅れないようにします。
ashita wa okurenai yō ni shimasu
I'll make sure not to be late tomorrow.
〜ようになる — change of state ("come to")
Swap する for なる ("become") and the agency drains out: the state arrives on its own, through growth, practice, or the drift of time. It is the standard frame for a change in ability — especially potential verb + ようになる = "became able to."
練習して、やっと漢字が読めるようになりました。
renshū shite, yatto kanji ga yomeru yō ni narimashita
After practicing, I've finally become able to read kanji.
子供が一人で服を着られるようになった。
kodomo ga hitori de fuku o kirareru yō ni natta
My child has become able to get dressed on their own.
For a change away from a habit, the natural negative is 〜なくなる ("come to stop doing"):
一人暮らしを始めてから、外食しなくなった。
hitorigurashi o hajimete kara, gaishoku shinaku natta
Since I started living alone, I've stopped eating out.
The ようにする vs ようになる contrast is the heart of the cluster: する is the agent working on a habit, なる is the state arriving by itself. This is the same する / なる axis that runs through the whole language — 食べるようにする ("I make myself eat it") against 食べられるようになる ("I've come to be able to eat it").
〜ように言う — indirect command
Put ように before a verb of speech — 言う, 頼む, 伝える — and you get a reported request or order: "tell / ask someone to…." The ように marks the manner the speaker wants realized.
先生は、静かにするように言った。
sensei wa, shizuka ni suru yō ni itta
The teacher told us to be quiet.
医者に、お酒を控えるように言われた。
isha ni, o-sake o hikaeru yō ni iwareta
The doctor told me to cut down on drinking.
Common mistakes
❌ 日本語を勉強するように、日本に来ました。
Wrong purpose frame — a deliberate same-subject action needs ために.
✅ 日本語を勉強するために、日本に来ました。
nihongo o benkyō suru tame ni, nihon ni kimashita
I came to Japan in order to study Japanese.
ように takes a non-volitional goal (potential/negative/change-of-state). When the purpose is your own deliberate act, use ために. Alternatively keep ように but make the goal non-volitional: 日本語が上手になるように ("so that my Japanese improves").
❌ 毎日運動するようになっている。
Means 'it's come to be that I exercise daily (on its own)' — not the intended effort.
✅ 毎日運動するようにしている。
mainichi undō suru yō ni shite iru
I make a point of exercising every day.
A habit you cultivate is ようにする. ようになる would say the exercising simply developed in you — spontaneous change, not effort.
❌ 泳げるようにした。
Means 'I made an effort to be able to swim' — odd, as if you worked at the ability directly.
✅ 泳げるようになった。
oyogeru yō ni natta
I became able to swim.
An ability that arrives takes ようになる. ようにする implies you deliberately manufactured the state, which doesn't fit gaining a skill through practice.
❌ 漢字を読むようになりました。
Means 'I came to (habitually) read kanji,' not 'became able to read them.'
✅ 漢字が読めるようになりました。
kanji ga yomeru yō ni narimashita
I've become able to read kanji.
"Became able to" needs the potential form (読める) before ようになる. Plain dictionary form (読む) gives "came to do it as a habit" — a change in behaviour, not in ability.
Key takeaways
- The よう cluster all grows from よう = "a way / manner": purpose, simile, effort, change, and indirect command.
- 〜ように (+ potential/negative) = purpose, "so that"; contrast ために for a deliberate same-subject goal.
- 〜ような / ように (+ noun) = simile, "like."
- 〜ようにする = deliberate effort ("try to / make a point of"); 〜ようになる = change arriving on its own ("come to / became able to").
- The する vs なる split is the master key: する = you work at it, なる = it comes about — the same axis as ことにする / ことになる.
- For "became able to," use the potential form before ようになる (読める → 読めるようになる).
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- 〜くなる / 〜になる: BecomeN4 — How to express a change of state with なる — い-adjectives take 〜く, na-adjectives and nouns take 〜に, and the change is always something that happens by itself.
- 〜ことになっている / 〜ことになる: Arranged OutcomesN3 — The こと-idiom that packages rules, schedules, and appointments as settled arrangements — 靴を脱ぐことになっている — and the humble なる-frame Japanese reaches for even when the decision was its own.
- 〜ものだ: General Truths, Nostalgia, and ShouldN3 — How a single ending — ものだ — can generalize, reminisce, scold, and marvel, because all of its meanings appeal to the same idea: the essential nature of how things and people are.