Grammar Info

N3 Lesson 10: 9/20

っぽい-ish, -like, Characteristic of, Typical of, Tendency to

Often has negative connotation.

Structure

Verb［stem］+ っぽい
［い］Adjective［い］+ っぽい
［な］Adjective + っぽい
Noun + っぽい

Details

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    Standard

About っぽい

っぽい (occasionally also seen as ぽい) is a suffix that may be attached to many different types of words, in order to create new い-Adjectives. In all cases, っぽい indicates something that is 'exhibiting characteristics of (A)'. This is most often in reference to the way (A) is acting, or the way (A) looks. In English, っぽい may be translated as '(A)ish', '(A)like', or 'tendency to (A)'. っぽい quite often carries a negative connotation.

As っぽい creates い-Adjectives from other words, it may be used with the conjunctive form of verbs, or the 語幹(ごかん) (stem form) of any other word.

Caution

As っぽい creates new い-Adjectives, っぽい itself may be conjugated in exactly the same way as regular い-Adjectives.

Caution

The fundamental meaning of っぽい will change depending on what type of word it is being used with. The general rules are as follows:

Verb + っぽい - To have a tendency to do (A).

Adjective + っぽい - To exhibit all the signs of being (A).

Noun + っぽい - To obviously not be (A), although show signs of being (A).

From this, we can see that っぽい is generally based on the opinion of the speaker, rather than the innate qualities of what is being observed. Thus, with verbs, adjectives, and nouns, the speaker feels like (A) is in excess, compared to what would be expected. This 'being in excess of what is normal' in the opinion of the speaker is what creates the negative connotation.

Related

Examples

--:--

    寅(とら)さんは惚(ほ)れっぽく、飽(あ)きっぽい。

    Tora-san has the tendency to fall in love, and also has the tendency to lose interest. (~ish)

    なんかこの牛乳(ぎゅうにゅう)は水(みず)っぽいな。

    This milk is somewhat watery… (~ish)

    怒(おこ)りっぽい人(ひと)はあまり好(す)かれない。

    People that have a tendency to get angry are not liked much. (~ish)

    トムは記憶力(きおくりょく)がいいどころか、忘(わす)れっぽいよ。

    Let alone having a good memory, Tom is forgetful. (~ish)

    こういう時(とき)は黒(くろ)っぽいスーツを着(き)るべきか？

    Should I wear a blackish suit for this occasion?

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っぽい – Grammar Discussion

Most Recent Replies (6 in total)

  • mrnoone

    mrnoone

    English translation:
    -ish・-like
    characteristic of
    typical of
    tendency to

    Structure:
    Verb[stem]
    Noun + っぽい
    いAdj[い] + っぽい
    なAdj + っぽい

    Often has negative connotation.

    View on Bunpro

  • NickavGnaro

    NickavGnaro

    I’m not sure if this is the right place to post when I have a question about a particular sentence for the grammar point in question, but I am not sure enough to make it an error report. However, in the below sentence:

    試合中、__プレーをして、審判に注意された。[荒い]

    With the following translation:

    “I had been playing roughly in the match, and was given a warning by the referee. [~ish]”

    I used 荒っぽく instead of 荒っぽい. I would think that the accepted answer (the second one) would translate to something more akin to “I made rough plays” rather than “I played roughly,” but I may be mistaken about that.

    Is my original answer wrong, technically okay but not natural, or something else? Also, please let me know where I should post questions like these in the future if grammar point threads are not the proper place.

  • mrnoone

    mrnoone

    @NickavGnaro
    Hey and welcome on the community forums!

    You are right! The translation fits 荒っぽく better. I will change the sentence to fit the translation more to your suggestion!

    PS
    When it comes to Japanese though, I would say that if っぽく is used then removing を will feel more natural:
    試合中、荒っぽくプレーして、審判に注意された。
    試合中、荒っぽくプレーをして、審判に注意された。 is still ok, but less natural

    On the other hand, when っぽい is used, then を has to stay since it cannot modify a verb:
    試合中、荒っぽいプレーをして、審判に注意された。
    試合中、荒っぽいプレーして、審判に注意された。is unnatural

    Thank you very much for the feedback and sorry for the inconvenience!
    Cheers!

  • NickavGnaro

    NickavGnaro

    Wow, awesome! Not only did I get a quick response and resolution to the issue, but also ended up learning more! I’ll be sure to keep an eye out for the lack of を after adverbs. Thank you

  • Kert

    Kert

    彼の話は理屈っぽいから、あまり話をしたくはない。
    Isn’t は at the end of the sentence excessive? As I understand it’s shitai -> shitakunai, but there’s no は

  • nekoyama

    nekoyama

    したくない is a direct way to say “I don’t want to do it”.

    したくはない (this is the particle は) is a bit softer, “I don’t want to do it, but…”. Implying that the person may still do it. They don’t like it, but perhaps it’s necessary or hard to avoid. It’s also a bit more considerate because it’s not as direct a rejection as outright saying “I don’t want to”.

  • Kert

    Kert

    Thanks for the explanation!
    Is there a bunpro grammar point on this? Maybe it’s after N3 somewhere?
    UPD: found it in N2 https://www.bunpro.jp/grammar_points/402

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