Japanese Grammar: に見える (ni mieru) – To Look Like / Appear

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Japanese Grammar: に見える (ni mieru) – To Look Like / Appear
Meaning & Usage

✨ Basic Meaning

To look like; to appear to be.

🎯 Primary Function

Expressing visual impressions and resemblances.

📋 Grammar Structure

Verb (Te-form) + 見える / Verb (Dictionary form) + ように見える
I-Adjective (remove ~i) + く見える
Na-Adjective Stem + に見える
Noun + には見えない / Adjective + くは見えない

🎭 Usage Contexts

🏢 Formal Situations

Commonly used in reports or descriptive writing with ‘に見えます’.

😊 Informal Situations

Used frequently in daily conversation to share impressions.

✍️ Written Language

Used in descriptive literature or observational notes.

🗣️ Spoken Language

Very common in casual speech to talk about people or objects.

💡 Common Applications

Describing Physical Appearance
Used to describe how someone’s age or physical state appears to the observer.
Example: 彼は若く見える (He looks young).
Metaphorical Comparison
Used when an object visually resembles something else.
Example: あの雲は犬に見える (That cloud looks like a dog).
Judging States or Emotions
Expressing an impression of someone’s emotional state based on their outward appearance.
Example: 幸せに見える (Looks happy).
📊
Frequency
High
🎚️
Difficulty
JLPT N4
Tag:

Related Kanji

JLPT N4 Kanji List

Related Vocabulary

JLPT N4 Vocabulary List
Example Sentences
Example #1
彼は先生に見える。
Furigana: かれはせんせいにみえる。
Romaji: Kare wa sensei ni mieru.
English: He looks like a teacher.
Example #2
彼女は実年齢より若く見える。
Furigana: かのじょはじつねんれいよりわかくみえる。
Romaji: Kanojo wa jitsunenrei yori wakaku mieru.
English: She looks much younger than her actual age.
Example #3
あなたはとても元気に見える。
Furigana: あなたはとてもげんきにみえる。
Romaji: Anata wa totemo genki ni mieru.
English: You look very healthy.
Example #4
あの雲は猫に見える。
Furigana: あのくもはねこにみえる。
Romaji: Ano kumo wa neko ni mieru.
English: That cloud looks like a cat.
Example #5
この偽のダイヤモンドは本物に見える。
Furigana: このにせのダイヤモンドはほんものにみえる。
Romaji: Kono nise no daiyamondo wa honmono ni mieru.
English: This fake diamond looks like a real one.
Example #6
今日は幸せに見える。
Furigana: きょうはしあわせにみえる。
Romaji: Kyou wa shiawase ni mieru.
English: You look happy today.
Example #7
この服を着ると、太って見える？
Furigana: このふくをきると、ふとってみえる？
Romaji: Kono fuku o kiru to, futotte mieru?
English: Does this dress make me look fat?
Example #8
遠くから見ると、あの山は青く見える。
Furigana: とおくからみると、あのやまはあおくみえる。
Romaji: Tooku kara miru to, ano yama wa aoku mieru.
English: From a distance, that mountain looks blue.
Example #9
彼の話は嘘に見える。
Furigana: かれのはなしはうそにみえる。
Romaji: Kare no hanashi wa uso ni mieru.
English: His story looks like a lie to me.
Example #10
この部屋はホテルの部屋に見える。
Furigana: このへやはホテルのへやにみえる。
Romaji: Kono heya wa hoteru no heya ni mieru.
English: This room looks like a hotel room.
Notes & Nuances

📌 Important Points

Spontaneous Perception
The grammar indicates a spontaneous visual perception rather than an active choice to look.
Example: 山が近くに見える。 (The mountain looks close.)
Visual Impression vs. Reality
This describes a state that is apparent to the eyes, regardless of the actual internal reality.
Example: 元気に見える。 (Looks healthy/energetic.)

⚠️ Common Mistakes

❌ 若い見える (wakai mieru) / 若いに見える (wakai ni mieru)
✅ 若く見える (wakaku mieru)
I-adjectives must change the final ‘i’ to ‘ku’ before ‘mieru’. You cannot use ‘ni’ with I-adjectives.
❌ 先生見える (sensei mieru)
✅ 先生に見える (sensei ni mieru)
Nouns require the particle ‘ni’ to connect with ‘mieru’.

🏛️ Cultural Context

Politeness Level: Neutral, but can be made polite by using ‘ni miemasu’.
Social Situations: Often used in compliments (e.g., ‘You look young’) or when discussing art and nature.
Regional Variations: Standard across Japan.

🔍 Subtle Differences

～に見える vs ～そうだ
‘Ni mieru’ is based strictly on visual resemblance, while ‘Sou da’ is an intuitive guess or conjecture about a state.
When to use: Use ‘ni mieru’ for visual likeness; use ‘sou da’ when you infer a quality (e.g., ‘looks delicious’).
～に見える vs ～みたいだ
‘Mitai da’ is more colloquial and can cover a wider range of metaphors, not just visual ones.
When to use: Use ‘ni mieru’ for more direct visual impressions.

📝 Conjugation Notes

Visible changes occur depending on the word type: Nouns and Na-adjectives take ‘ni’, while I-adjectives take ‘ku’. Verbs usually require ‘te-form’ for state or ‘youni’ for resemblance.

🔊 Pronunciation Tips

The ‘ni’ or ‘ku’ should be attached closely to the preceding word without a long pause.

🧠 Memory Tips

Think of ‘mieru’ as ‘to be visible’. So, ‘Sensei ni mieru’ literally means ‘is visible as a teacher’.

Other Grammar

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