Difference between 心の中に浮かぶ vs 心に浮かぶ


I read the definition of 面影:

> 実際に目の前にあるように **心の中に浮かぶ** 姿・かたち

> "Shape(s)" that comes up in your mind as if it was in front of you/real

Based on the kanjis 面影 I'm assuming it's something to do with a
picture/shadow/scenario/memory in your head. I found the word in this sentence
面影に差した日暮れ.

I searched up 心の中に浮かぶ and I found this for 心に浮かぶ
<https://kotobank.jp/word/%E5%BF%83%E3%81%AB%E6%B5%AE%E3%81%8B%E3%81%B6-265756>

> ① 想像して心に描く。思い浮かぶ。

> To imagine and "sketch it". To come to mind

Does 心の中に浮かぶ have a different meaning than 心に浮かぶ. Also, I'm just wondering if
"as if it was" is a correct interpretation for ように in this case.




There isn't any significant difference in meaning between the two expressions,
except maybe in some very unlikely situations.

Generally speaking, if you have the right conditions, "[noun]の中に" can be
swapped for "[noun]に" without affecting the meaning in any important way. Take
this example:

> (1) バケツの中に水が入っている  
>  (2) バケツに水が入っている

You can justly say that there isn't any semantic difference of importance
between the (1) and (2), insofar as they both state that there is water in a
bucket. This is because even without "の中", what can conceivably be meant is
that there is water _in(side)_ the bucket and not in or on any other part of
the bucket (the "入っている" having the concept of _in-ness_ built in it). Where
else in a bucket could water be contained, except, well, in it, under normal
circumstances?

There are, naturally, cases where the meaning change:

> (3) バケツの中に値札が貼ってある  
>  (4) バケツに値札が貼ってある

There is a difference of significance between the two sentences above. (3)
says that there is a price tag stuck on the inside of the bucket, while we
can't know from (4) where on the bucket the price tag is stuck (because you
can conceivably stick a price tag on any surface of a bucket other than the
inside).

Though things are a bit vague with "心の中に浮かぶ" and "心に浮かぶ" because they are
figurative language, I think it's not unreasonable to think of them in the
same way as the pair (1) and (2).

All that said, though, we can also just think of "心の中に浮かぶ" as 'come up
in(side) my mind' and "心に浮かぶ" as 'comes up _on_ our mind' or 'comes up _to_
our mind' and it will make little difference.

So, -- to bring this overlong answer to a conclusion -- the bottom line is
that as idiomatic phrases, "心の中に浮かぶ" and "心に浮かぶ" mean much the same thing and
used in much the same way, however you interpret their internal semantics.

(You are on point with the translation of "ように" as 'as if'.)




There isn't any significant difference in meaning between the two expressions,
except maybe in some very unlikely situations.

Generally speaking, if you have the right conditions, "[noun]の中に" can be
swapped for "[noun]に" without affecting the meaning in any important way. Take
this example:

> (1) バケツの中に水が入っている  
>  (2) バケツに水が入っている

You can justly say that there isn't any semantic difference of importance
between the (1) and (2), insofar as they both state that there is water in a
bucket. This is because even without "の中", what can conceivably be meant is
that there is water _in(side)_ the bucket and not in or on any other part of
the bucket (the "入っている" having the concept of _in-ness_ built in it). Where
else in a bucket could water be contained, except, well, in it, under normal
circumstances?

There are, naturally, cases where the meaning change:

> (3) バケツの中に値札が貼ってある  
>  (4) バケツに値札が貼ってある

There is a difference of significance between the two sentences above. (3)
says that there is a price tag stuck on the inside of the bucket, while we
can't know from (4) where on the bucket the price tag is stuck (because you
can conceivably stick a price tag on any surface of a bucket other than the
inside).

Though things are a bit vague with "心の中に浮かぶ" and "心に浮かぶ" because they are
figurative language, I think it's not unreasonable to think of them in the
same way as the pair (1) and (2).

All that said, though, we can also just think of "心の中に浮かぶ" as 'come up
in(side) my mind' and "心に浮かぶ" as 'comes up _on_ our mind' or 'comes up _to_
our mind' and it will make little difference.

So, -- to bring this overlong answer to a conclusion -- the bottom line is
that as idiomatic phrases, "心の中に浮かぶ" and "心に浮かぶ" mean much the same thing and
used in much the same way, however you interpret their internal semantics.

(You are on point with the translation of "ように" as 'as if'.)

