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We have been taught a lot of uses of よう pattern like ように, Vます ように, sentence
ending with ように, ようだ for comparison, etc. But everywhere in textbooks, the よう
is written in hiragana. I recently found out that よう actually has a kanji 様.
On checking
[jisho.org](http://jisho.org/words?jap=%E3%82%88%E3%81%86&eng=&dict=edict), I
found that

> 様 よう  
>  1: (Usually written using kana alone) (usu. after the -masu stem of a verb)
> appearing ...; looking ...;  
>  2: (usu. after the -masu stem of a verb) way to ...; method of ...ing;  
>  3: (usu. after a noun) form; style; design;  
>  4: (usu. after a noun) like; similar to; (Noun) thing (thought or spoken)  
>

So according to them, the only time it is written in hiragana is when よう
follows the ます形. However my (non-native) teacher says it is always written in
hiragana when it is used as a grammar pattern. As a result, I am pretty much
confused how it is written.

I have read [istrasci's
answer](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/a/8317/4507) to the question [When
should I replace kanji with
hiragana](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/questions/8315/when-should-i-
replace-kanji-with-hiragana), where he mentions that when writing elementary
books, kanjis are often intentionally written in hiragana, since children
can't recognize them that easily. Is this a possible reason why よう is written
in hiragana or is よう really written always in hiragana when using as grammar
pattern? If it is at all written in kanji, how to distinguish those cases?

On a side note, many words are written specifically in hiragana when used for
grammatical purposes. In such cases, what impression do I give to the reader
if I write those words (unknowingly) in kanji?
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2014-06-11T13:49:47.103
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question
grammar kanji
When is よう written in kanji as 様?
Searching the Balanced Corpus of Contemporary Written Japanese (BCCWJ,
accessible at <http://www.kotonoha.gr.jp/shonagon/>) for 様に by removing
results that correspond to 同様に, 神様に, etc., only four results are found.

> 様{よう}に 4 results (without false positives)  
>  ように 185442 results (possibly with false positives)

Similarly,

> 様だ 0 results (without false positives)  
>  ようだ 12378 results (possibly with false positives)
>
> 様で 2 results (without false positives)  
>  ようで 82 results (without false positives)

So, for all of ように, ようだ, ようです, kana is definitely preferred.

The general rule is to use kana for words with grammatical function.

One other use of よう you didn't mention is the construction [ます-stem]+よう, where
様 is also written in kana, except for the verb する, which is usually written as
仕様{しよう}.
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answer
This depends on personal taste and situations, but in general Japanese people
are generally taught to use hiragana for auxiliary verbs and particles.

  * ～あての(手紙) ～宛ての(手紙) (a letter) to ～
  * ～ごとに ～毎に per ～
  * ～ために ～為に in order to ～
  * ～できる ～出来る be able to ～
  * ～ように ～様に like ～
  * ～において ～に於いて at ～ (place)

I suppose many Japanese style guidelines (for newspapers, official documents,
and such) have explicit rules to avoid kanji in those cases.

Those were frequently written in kanji before WWII, and people can still read
and understand the kanji versions without difficulty. A few occasions of the
kanji versions should not be frowned upon too much. However, excessive use of
kanji for those cases can make you look like simulating old documents, or
simply less trained to write modern formal Japanese.

I'm not quite sure, but according to my J->E dictionary, "stilted", "pompous"
and "bombastic" may be the words I can use to describe my impression of the
kanji versions.
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answer