Meaning & Usage
✨ Basic Meaning
-ish, -like, prone to, or seems to have a certain quality.
🎯 Primary Function
To indicate that something has a strong quality of, or looks like, another thing, or to describe a frequent tendency.
📋 Grammar Structure
Verb Stem (ます-form) + っぽい
Stem of I-adjective (remove い) + っぽい
Noun + っぽい
～っぽくない / ～っぽくありません
🎭 Usage Contexts
Formal Situations
Avoid in highly formal documents or speeches as it sounds quite casual. Use ‘rashi’ or ‘mitai’ for more neutral descriptions.
Informal Situations
Very common among friends and family to describe things or people’s personalities.
Written Language
Used in blogs, social media, and fiction, but rare in formal essays.
Spoken Language
Frequently used in daily conversation to give subjective impressions.
💡 Common Applications
Expressing Personal Tendencies
Used with verb stems to describe someone’s personality or inherent nature to behave in a certain way.
Example: 飽きっぽい (Quick to lose interest) / 怒りっぽい (Short-tempered)
Describing Physical Appearance/Quality
Used with nouns or adjectives to describe the visual or qualitative feel of an object that resembles something else.
Example: 安っぽい (Cheap-looking) / 白っぽい (Whitish)
Criticizing Behavior
Often carries a negative nuance when comparing someone’s behavior to something undesirable or inappropriate for their age/status.
Example: 子供っぽい (Childish) / 愚痴っぽい (Whiny)
Frequency
High (Common in casual spoken Japanese)
Difficulty
JLPT N3 (Intermediate)
Tag:
Example Sentences
Example #1
あの人はもう大人なのに、少し子供っぽいです。
Furigana: あのひと（人）はもうおとな（大人）なのに、すこ（少）しこども（子供）っぽいです。
Romaji: Ano hito wa mou otona na noni, sukoshi kodomoppoi desu.
English: That person is already an adult, but he is a bit childish.
Example #2
このバッグは高そうですが、実はちょっと安っぽいです。
Furigana: このバッグはたか（高）そうですが、じつ（実）はちょっとやす（安）っぽいです。
Romaji: Kono baggu wa takasou desu ga, jitsu wa chotto yasuppoi desu.
English: This bag looks expensive, but it actually feels a bit cheap.
Example #3
祖父は最近、とても忘れっぽくなりました。
Furigana: そふ（祖父）はさいきん（最近）、とてもわす（忘）れっぽくなりました。
Romaji: Sofu wa saikin, totemo wasureppoku narimashita.
English: My grandfather has become very forgetful lately.
Example #4
私は油っぽい料理があまり好きではありません。
Furigana: わたし（私）はあぶら（油）っぽいりょうり（料理）があまりす（好）きではありません。
Romaji: Watashi wa aburappoi ryouri ga amari suki de wa arimasen.
English: I don’t like oily food very much.
Example #5
彼の説明は嘘っぽいです。
Furigana: かれ（彼）のせつめい（説明）はうそ（嘘）っぽいです。
Romaji: Kare no setsumei wa usoppoi desu.
English: His explanation sounds like a lie.
Example #6
今日の空は少し白っぽいです。雨が降るのでしょうか。
Furigana: きょう（今日）のそら（空）はすこ（少）ししろ（白）っぽいです。あめ（雨）がふ（降）るのでしょうか。
Romaji: Kyou no sora wa sukoshi shiroppoi desu. Ame ga furu no deshou ka?
English: The sky is a bit whitish today. Is it going to rain?
Example #7
彼は怒りっぽいから、話すときは気をつけてください。
Furigana: かれ（彼）はおこ（怒）りっぽいから、はな（話）すときはき（気）をつけてください。
Romaji: Kare wa okorippoi kara, hanasu toki wa ki o tsukete kudasai.
English: He is short-tempered, so please be careful when talking to him.
Example #8
私は飽きっぽいので、趣味がなかなか続きません。
Furigana: わたし（私）はあき（飽）っぽいので、しゅみ（趣味）がなかなか（続）きません。
Romaji: Watashi wa akippoi node, shumi ga naka naka tsuzukimasen.
English: I quickly lose interest in things, so I can’t seem to continue any hobby.
Example #9
彼女は男っぽい服をかっこよく着こなしています。
Furigana: かのじょ（彼女）はおとこ（男）っぽいふく（服）をかっこよくき（着）こなしています。
Romaji: Kanojo wa otokoppoi fuku o kakkoyoku kikonashite imasu.
English: She always looks cool in her boyish clothes.
Example #10
愚痴っぽいことは言わないで、仕事をしてください！
Furigana: ぐち（愚痴）っぽいことはい（言）わないで、しごと（仕事）をしてください！
Romaji: Guchippoi koto wa iwanaide, shigoto o shite kudasai!
English: Stop complaining and do your work!
Notes & Nuances
📌 Important Points
Subjective Nuance
‘Ppoi’ suggests the object actually contains too much of the quality (e.g., soup that is too watery), while ‘mitai’ is a pure comparison.
Example: 水っぽい (mizuppoi – watery) vs 水みたい (mizu mitai – like water)
Frequency/Habit
When used with verbs, it indicates a frequent habit or tendency that the speaker usually finds bothersome.
Example: 忘れっぽい (forgetful)
⚠️ Common Mistakes
❌ Using ‘ppoi’ for positive typical characteristics.
✅ 子供らしい (kodomo rashii)
‘Ppoi’ often implies a negative criticism (a person acting like a child when they shouldn’t). ‘Rashii’ implies they have the positive, typical qualities of a child.
❌ 怒るっぽい (okoru ppoi)
✅ 怒りっぽい (okorippoi)
For tendencies (prone to), ‘ppoi’ is added to the verb stem, not the dictionary form.
🏛️ Cultural Context
Politeness Level: Casual to Polite (depending on the sentence ending), but the nuance is subjective and often critical.
Social Situations: Be careful using it to describe people directly, as it can sound rude (e.g., calling an adult ‘kodomoppoi’).
Regional Variations: Standard across Japan.
🔍 Subtle Differences
～っぽい vs ～らしい (rashii)
‘Ppoi’ is subjective and often critical. ‘Rashii’ means having the ideal/typical characteristics of that category.
When to use: Use ‘ppoi’ for ‘acting like something they are not’ or ‘negative tendencies’. Use ‘rashii’ for ‘true to its nature’.
～っぽい vs ～みたい (mitai)
‘Mitai’ is a simple simile (A looks like B). ‘Ppoi’ implies the quality is ingrained or there is too much of it.
When to use: Use ‘mitai’ for visual comparison; use ‘ppoi’ for qualities and tendencies.
📝 Conjugation Notes
‘Ppoi’ conjugates exactly like an I-adjective. (Negative: ~ppokunai, Past: ~ppoikatta, Adverb: ~ppoku).
🔊 Pronunciation Tips
Note the small ‘tsu’ (っ). There is a slight pause before the ‘p’ sound, which gives it emphasis.
🧠 Memory Tips
Think of it like the English suffix ‘-ish’. ‘Blue-ish’ = ‘Aoppoi’. ‘Child-ish’ = ‘Kodomoppoi’. It usually means ‘too much of something’ or ‘resembling something in a negative way’.
Other Grammar
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