Grammar Info

N3 Lesson 10: 9/20

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

Often has negative connotation.

Structure

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

Details

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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.

  • 昔(むかし)は紫(むらさき)っぽかったのに今(いま)はなぜか赤(あか)っぽい。
    Back in the day, it was purpleish, but now for some reason it is reddish.
  • この靴(くつ)なんか安(やす)っぽくない？
    Don't these shoes look cheapish?

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.

Synonyms

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)

  • 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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