Learn Hardcore Chinese: tā jīntiān xiàng shēngbìng le yíyàng, hěn lèi.

他今天像生病了一样 ≈ “He today is like (he) has gotten sick”
Natural translation: “He looks/acts as if he’s sick today” or “He seems sick today.”

So 像 introduces the comparison (“like / as if”), and 一样 completes that comparison (“the same”), making it a standard simile structure:

像 + [what it’s like] + 一样 → “(behave / look) as if [that were true].”

Is 像 here a verb (“to resemble”) or a preposition (“like / as”)?

In modern Chinese grammar descriptions, 像 in this pattern is usually treated as a verb meaning “to resemble / to be like”.

他今天像生病了一样 literally:
他今天 [像] [生病了] 一样
“He today resembles (the state of) being sick.”

Functionally, though, in English we often translate it with “like / as if / seems”, because that’s how we naturally express this idea:

seems sick
looks like he’s sick
acts as if he were sick

What is the role of 一样? Can I leave it out?

一样 literally means “the same (as)” and here it:

completes the comparison started by 像
makes the sentence sound more natural and idiomatic

So:

他今天像生病了，很累。 – understandable, but sounds a bit incomplete/odd.
他今天像生病了一样，很累。 – natural, standard pattern.

You can sometimes omit 一样 in casual speech, especially with very short comparisons (e.g. 像鬼 “like a ghost”), but with a full clause like 生病了, adding 一样 is very common and feels smoother.

If 一样 already means “the same,” why do we also need 像 (“like”)?

They work as a pair:

像 introduces the comparison: “to be like / to resemble”
一样 states that the resemblance is “the same”

Compare:

他今天像生病了一样 – “He is like he has gotten sick (the same as being sick).”
If you only have 一样 without 像, it usually compares two explicit things:
他跟昨天一样，很累。 – “He is the same as yesterday, very tired.”

So 像 … 一样 together gives the idiomatic “as if … / as though …” feeling.

What does 了 do in 生病了 here? Does it mean he really got sick?

了 after 生病 usually marks a change of state: “(has) become sick / has gotten sick.”

In this sentence, though, that verb phrase is inside a comparison:

像生病了 = “like (he) has gotten sick”

Because of 像 … 一样, the whole clause is framed as appearance, not a firm fact. So:

他今天生病了，很累。 – “He is (in fact) sick today; he is very tired.”
他今天像生病了一样，很累。 – “He seems/looks as if he’s sick today; (he’s) very tired.”

So 了 still indicates the “sick” state is in effect now, but the 像 … 一样 tells us it’s only an impression from the speaker’s point of view.

How does the meaning change if I remove 像 … 一样 and just say 他今天生病了，很累。?

Without 像 … 一样, you’re stating a fact:

他今天生病了，很累。
“He is sick today; he’s very tired.” → You’re sure he’s sick.

With 像 … 一样, you’re describing an appearance or impression:

他今天像生病了一样，很累。
“He seems/looks as if he’s sick today; he’s very tired.” → You’re not asserting he’s sick; you’re describing how he looks/acts.

So the structure with 像 … 一样 softens the statement into an observation rather than a diagnosis.

Why do we need 很 before 累? Aren’t we just saying “He is tired,” not “very tired”?

In Chinese, adjectives like 累 often cannot directly function as predicates without a degree word; you normally need something like:

很 – “very” (often weak / almost neutral)
有点儿 – “a bit”
非常 – “extremely”

So:

他很累。 – grammatically natural
他累。 – feels abrupt or incomplete in most contexts; can be used, but often sounds like a contrast, e.g. “He is the one who’s tired.”

In many cases, 很 doesn’t strongly mean “very”; it often functions more like a linking element (“is tired”) with only a light sense of degree. In translation we might choose:

他今天像生病了一样，很累。
“He seems sick today; he’s really tired / he’s quite tired / he’s tired.”

Depending on context, English “very” may or may not be needed, but Chinese 很 is usually there.

Why is there a comma before 很累? Is that a separate clause?

Yes, the comma separates two related parts:

他今天像生病了一样 – description of his appearance/condition (“He seems/looks as if he’s sick today”)
很累 – a further remark about his state (“(he’s) very tired”)

So the structure is:

[Subject + time] + [seems-as-if-sick clause]，+ [very tired].

It’s similar to English:

“He seems sick today, (he’s) very tired.”
“He looks as if he’s sick today; he’s very tired.”

You could also say:

他今天像生病了一样累。 – “He is as tired as if he were sick today.”
Here there is no comma, and 累 is directly linked to 像 … 一样 as part of the same predicate. The nuance is a bit more compact and slightly more focused on “tiredness.”

Can I move 今天 to the beginning, like 今天他像生病了一样，很累。?

Yes, that’s fine and natural:

他今天像生病了一样，很累。
今天他像生病了一样，很累。

Both are correct. The difference is just focus / rhythm:

他今天… – starts with “he”, then adds “today”
今天他… – starts with “today”, emphasizing the time frame first

English is similar:

“He seems sick today…”
“Today he seems sick…”

No major change in meaning; just slightly different emphasis.

What’s the difference between 像 and 好像 in this kind of sentence?

好像 adds a stronger sense of “it seems / it appears that”, often with more explicit subjective judgment:

他今天像生病了一样，很累。
“He is like he’s sick today, very tired.” → neutral simile.
他今天好像生病了，很累。
“He seems to be sick today; he’s very tired.” → more clearly a guess / impression.

You can combine 好像 with 一样 as well:

他今天好像生病了一样，很累。
Also natural, and very close in meaning to the original, maybe a bit more colloquial and subjective.

Rough guideline:

像 … 一样 – basic simile/comparison “like/as if …”
好像 … (一样) – “it seems/appears that …”, often used when you’re explicitly guessing based on what you see.

Is 生病 a verb (“to get sick”) or an adjective (“sick”) here?

生病 can function as a verb phrase meaning:

“to get sick / to fall ill”
or “to be sick / to be ill” (state)

In 生病了:

生病 – “become sick / be ill”
了 – marks the onset or presence of that state now

Inside 像生病了一样, it’s best understood as “like (he) has gotten sick / like (he) is (now) sick.”

You could think of it as loosely in between English verb and adjective; Chinese doesn’t separate them in the same way English does.

Could I say 他今天像生病了一样累 without 很 and the comma?

Yes, 他今天像生病了一样累 is grammatical and natural. It means:

“He is as tired as if he were sick today.”
or loosely, “Today he’s tired as if he’s sick.”

Here:

像生病了一样 directly modifies 累 as a degree-like phrase:
“tired (to the extent) like having gotten sick.”

Differences:

他今天像生病了一样，很累。 – “He seems as if he’s sick today; he’s very tired.”
Two parts; 很 is explicit.
他今天像生病了一样累。 – More tightly focused on how tired he is (his tiredness is like that of a sick person). No explicit 很, but the comparative structure itself implies a high degree.

Is the speaker sure he is sick, or just guessing from how he looks?

Because of 像 … 一样, the sentence expresses a guess / impression rather than a confirmed fact.

Likely context: The speaker sees him looking pale, weak, moving slowly, etc., and comments:
- 他今天像生病了一样，很累。
  “He looks as if he’s sick today; he’s very tired.”

If the speaker knew for sure he was sick, they would more straightforwardly say:

他今天生病了，很累。 – “He is sick today; he is very tired.”

So you can think of 像 … 一样 here as signaling “based on what I see, it’s as if he were sick” rather than reporting a definite medical fact.