Grammar Info

N2 Lesson 8: 11/22

気(げ)

Seemingly, Giving appearance of, [Expresses emotions or feelings]

Structure

Verb［ます］+ げ + に(1)
［い］Adjective［い］+ げ + に(1)
［な］Adjective + げ + に(1)

(1) な + Noun

Details

  • Register

    Standard

  • 使用域

    一般

About げ

げ, sometimes seen in the kanji form 気(げ) is a suffix in Japanese that expresses that something is 'giving off the feeling of (A)', or 'seems like (A)'. げ is frequently used in relation to emotions, feelings, and things that the speaker generally can't be 100% sure of due to them not being directly visible.
げ is primarily seen used after the stem form of い-Adjectives, but may also appear following the stem forms of nouns of な-Adjectives. In all of these cases, the addition of げ creates a new な-Adjective meaning '(A) seeming'. Due to this, げ may then be followed by either な or に, depending on whether it is altering a verb or a noun later in the sentence.
  • 自信(じしん)ありげに見(み)えたかもしれないけど、実(じつ)はめちゃくちゃ緊張(きんちょう)してて吐(は)きそうだった。
    I may have given off the appearance of being confident, but actually, I was super nervous and felt like I was going to throw up.
  • 高校生(こうこうせい)たちがファストフード店(てん)で楽(たの)しげに話(はな)しているのを見(み)て、自分(じぶん)が高校生(こうこうせい)の頃(ころ)を思(おも)い出(だ)した。
    When I saw highschool students seemingly having a good time talking to each other at a fast food restaurant, it reminded me of the time when I was a highschooler.
  • 高橋(たかはし)くんは不安(ふあん)げに手(て)を上(あ)げました。
    Seemingly nervous, Takahashi-kun raised his hand.
げ is more subjective (based on the speaker's opinion) than そう, and is considered to be very low confidence. This may be considered a byproduct of the original 気(き), meaning of 'attention', referring to the way that the speaker 'senses (A)', regardless of what is actually true for (A) on the inside.

Examples

  • 誰(だれ)かに「私(わたし)の言(い)うとおりにすれば、いつの間(ま)にかお金持(かねも)ちになれるんだ」と言(い)われると、頭(あたま)の中(なか)に赤(あか)ランプが点灯(てんとう)して、これはなにか怪(あや)しげな儲(もう)け話(ばなし)だと思(おも)うようになる。このような人(ひと)には、いつも気(き)を付(つ)けなければならない。

    When someone says: 'Do as I say, and you will get rich in no time', a warning light in my head turns on and I begin to think that 'this gives off the appearance of a suspicious get-rich-quick scheme'. One must always be wary of people like this.

  • A：「どうしてそんなに満足(まんぞく)げなの？」
    B：日本語(にほんご)能力(のうりょく)試験(しけん)、合格(ごうかく)したんだよ！

    A: 'Why are you giving off the appearance of being so satisfied?'
    B: 'I passed the Japanese Language Proficiency Test!'

  • 彼女(かのじょ)は私(わたし)の言葉(ことば)を聞(き)いて悲(かな)しげな顔(かお)で出(で)かけた。どうしてそんな態度(たいど)を取(と)ったのか分(わ)からない。

    She left with a seemingly sad look upon her face after hearing my words. I don't understand the change in her demeanor.

  • 楽(たの)しげに遊(あそ)ぶ子供(こども)を見(み)るたびに、私(わたし)は子供(こども)のころを思(おも)い出(だ)す。そして思(おも)わず笑顔(えがお)になる。

    Every time I see children seemingly enjoying themselves, I recall my childhood. And, without thinking, I smile.

  • 子供(こども)たちが羨(うらや)ましげに見(み)ているから、お菓子(かし)を分(わ)けてあげた。

    Looking at the children they were giving the appearance of being envious, so I divided up the candy and gave it to them.

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