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I wanted to learn more about よう constructs, in particular the かのよう(な)(に) and
かのようだ constructs, so I did some research. The following is what I've found so
far.

> よう - a noun that can turn into a modifying noun or a adjective depending on
> whether a の or な exists on either end (see below). [source
> 1](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/questions/69210/is-%E3%82%88%E3%81%86-an-
> adjective-or-a-noun)
>
> のよう - modifies previous noun in “noun + のよう” construct as の “links” the よう
> to the noun. - [source
> 1](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/questions/69210/is-%E3%82%88%E3%81%86-an-
> adjective-or-a-noun)
>
> ような - the な-adjective version of よう, from my understanding of
> [this](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/questions/69210/is-%E3%82%88%E3%81%86-an-
> adjective-or-a-noun)
>
> のように - "Noun A のように" is used when describing an action which is "done in the
> same way as A" or a characteristic "which is comparable to A". Source: Genki
> II Second Edition Textbook, page 239
>
> のような - "Noun A のような noun B" means "a B like/similar to A." "A のような B" means
> that "B" has the same quality(ies) or appearance as A, or A is a example of
> "B". Source: Genki II Second Edition Textbook, page 239
>
> かのよう - Found nothing so far.
>
> かのような "Verb Phrase + かのような + Noun" = "(Noun) as if (Verb Phrase)" and forms
> a metaphorical expression or simile
> [Source](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/questions/21169/how-to-
> translate-%E5%8B%95%E8%A9%9E%E3%81%8B%E3%81%AE%E3%82%88%E3%81%86%E3%81%AA%E5%90%8D%E8%A9%9E)
>
> かのようだ translates as ‘(seems) as if...’ or ‘(seems) as if perhaps...’ Source:
> [this answer here](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/questions/3846/how-to-
> use-%E3%81%8B%E3%81%AE%E3%82%88%E3%81%86%E3%81%AB-%E3%81%AA-%E3%81%A0/43914#43914)

I am stumped as to what かのように means in comparison to かのような, and かのようだ are, as
I don't have a possible translation for かのように, possible grammar functions, nor
have I been able to find any questions asking about かのように specifically other
than [this question](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/questions/3846/how-to-
use-%E3%81%8B%E3%81%AE%E3%82%88%E3%81%86%E3%81%AB-%E3%81%AA-%E3%81%A0).
Unfortunately, the asker claims to already "understand fine how to use
〜(の)よう{に・な・だ}". thereby leaving me in the dark as to how it is used. (Any
clarification/explanation/rant on かのように alone will be much apricated.)

Is the above research correct as far as to what each construct means, and what
they are used for/as?

Edit:

Some example sentences shown below.

1) 自分の技術を自慢する **かのように** 、 嬉しそうに話す銀髪の男。

2) 自分のことなのに、まるで他人{ひと}のことを思い出している **かのようだ** 。

3) 軍隊で使う **ような** 、重くて厚みのあるサバイバルナイフ。

4) 品定めをする **かのような** , 射貫{いね}くような眼差{まなざ}をこちらに向けながら.
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nuances grammar
Research on かのように, and other よう constructs
You list several constructions.

> よう  
>  のよう  
>  ような  
>  のように  
>  のような  
>  かのよう  
>  かのような  
>  かのようだ

The core of all of these is the word よう ("likeness, that-ness"), usually
functioning more as an adjective meaning "like / similar to / as if `[whatever
came before in the sentence]`". All the rest of it is particles and
auxiliaries. These seem to be what's confusing you, so let's look at these in
turn.

> の

As you note, this can be used to modify one noun with another noun. This is
often a matter of possession, like 犬​ **[の]{●}** ​本 (the dog​ **'s** book),
but sometimes it's a different kind of modification, such as 青[の]{●}ドレス (a
blue dress), putting the emphasis on the noun after the の. This is called
**attributive** usage, where we're using the の to define an attribute or
quality of the following noun.

For all the constructions above with のよう, the basic meaning is "like / similar
to / as if `[the thing before the の]`".

> な

This is similar to the **attributive** use of の to modify a noun. な is
specific to a certain class of adjectives, often called **_-na_ adjectives**
in English. This な allows us to use the whole よう phrase attributively, to
modify something else with a description. ベンチのよう[な]{●}椅子 ("a chair like a
bench"), 殴られたよう[な]{●}感じ ("a feeling like having been punched").

> に

Also used with the _-na_ adjectives, this is like the _-ly_ suffix in English:
it turns a _-na_ adjective into an adverb.

> だ

This is the generic **copula** , or "to be" verb, in the plain form. The
polite form is です, which I'm sure you've probably heard before. Use either
plain or polite, depending on the social context of when you say or write
this.

だ and です are used to form a **predicate** or the end of sentence, when we
don't have another verb happening (or one of the so-called " _-i_ adjectives",
which we won't go into right now). So to use a _-na_ adjective as the
predicate of a sentence, we have to put だ after the adjective.

As an example for how to use the three pieces な・に・だ, let's look at the _-na_
adjective 静【しず】か ("quiet").

  * な  
If we want to say that _"this is a quiet car"_ , we're modifying (describing)
the word "car" with the word "quiet", so we have to use the **attributive** な
after the adjective and before the noun:  
これは静【しず】か[な]{●}車【くるま】だ。

  * に  
If we want to say that _"this car goes quietly"_ , we're modifying or
describing a quality of the verb, not the noun, so we have to use the
**adverb** form:  
この車【くるま】は静【しず】か[に]{●}行く。

  * だ  
If we just want to say _"this car is quiet"_ , we're making a statement where
the "quiet" part is the **predicate** , so we have to use the **copula** after
the adjective:  
この車【くるま】は静【しず】か[だ]{●}。

> か

This is the same thing as the sentence-ending question-mark particle か. This
can be used after a phrase to indicate uncertainty or vagueness about that
phrase.

To illustrate this, let's look at a contrastive pair of similar constructions.

  * 犬【いぬ】かのように振【ふ】る舞【ま】う  
to behave kind of like a dog

  * 犬【いぬ】のように振【ふ】る舞【ま】う  
to behave like a dog

Or we could look at a verb construction, as suggested by Chocolate in the
comments.

  * 春【はる】が来【き】たかのようだ  
It is kind of like spring has come / it seems that spring may have arrived.

  * 春【はる】が来【き】たようだ  
It is like spring has come / it seems that spring has arrived.

The か softens the statement and makes it a bit vaguer.

* * *

I hope the above clarifies things for you. Please comment if you have any
remaining confusion and I or another contributor can edit this post or post
separately.

* * *

Incidentally, you might find this related answer useful in your studies.

  * [Is よう an adjective or a noun?](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/questions/69210/is-%E3%82%88%E3%81%86-an-adjective-or-a-noun/69212#answer-69212)
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