みたいに / みたいな— Like / As (casual simile)

• 鳥みたいに自由に生きたい。

  Tori mitai ni jiyuu ni ikitai.

  I want to live freely, just like a bird.

  鳥みたいに (adverbial: in the manner of a bird) + 生きたい

• 魔法みたいな話ですね。

  Mahou mitai na hanashi desu ne.

  That's a story that sounds like magic.

  魔法みたいな (adjectival: magic-like) + 話

• 彼みたいな人と結婚したい。

  Kare mitai na hito to kekkon shitai.

  I want to marry someone like him.

  彼みたいな人 = a person like him

• ・に vs な: to modify an action use に (鳥みたいに飛ぶ = fly like a bird); to modify a noun use な (鳥みたいな人 = a person like a bird).
• ・A simile implies the thing IS NOT actually the noun (子供みたいな大人 = an adult who acts like a child).

Commonly confused with

The JLPT rarely asks whether you recognise a pattern — it asks which of several similar patterns fits. These are the ones みたいに is tested against.

• たことがある — Have Done (Experience)
• つもりだ — Intention / Plan
• ほうがいい — Had Better / Should
• てほしい — Want someone (else) to do something
• だけで — Just by doing / With just
• ではないか / じゃないか — Isn't it? (rhetorical)
• が必要だ (がひつようだ) — Need / Necessary
• がする — Involuntary sense perception