-らしい is used primarily in spoken Japanese. -ようだ often takes its place when written.
Pan
-らしい and -ようだ have different meanings.
You use -らしい as a similie when something is like something else, but is expected to be like that; for example:
'that man doesn't act like a woman' その男女らしくしていない
-ようだ is used to make a similie with a condition we don't expect the thing to be like. For example 'That human being acts like a cat' あの人間は猫のようにしている
If you mean to describe how something seems to be, they differ again, as -らしい is used to make an assumption based on what you've heard (usually from other people) and -ようだ is is used to make assumptions based on what you observe or from what you gather from first hand information.
hope that helps clear things up a little :)
nathy1985
There is also another way to use rashi. When I was in Japan I learned it. 大阪らしい、東京らしい 近くに大阪らしい居酒屋がありますか。It means. Is there a oosaka style bar close by. Rashi in this case means something to do with style. I have also heard it means ish like oosakaish.子供らしい