げ
Seemingly, Seeming Like
い Adjectives = い + げ
な Adjectives = な + げ
げ is a な adjective that attaches primarily to other adjectives. It means “~Like” or “Seeming like”.
It’s basically the same as そうな.
Although it may attach to な adjectives, it overwhelmingly attaches to い adjectives.
It may also attach to たい forms, which themselves are (Kind of) い adjectives.
げ is most commonly げに (Adverb).
げ most commonly attaches to emotion-type words.
The 漢字 for げ is 気, but it will usually be かな。
As you may guess from the kanji, げ technically means “having an air of”.
Examples
- 優しげに行った言葉 – Words said (seemingly) nicely.
- 何か言いたげな顔をする – A face that looks like they want to say something.
- 不安げな状況 – A seemingly uneasy situation.
- なんか、寂しげな人だ – Somehow, a lonely seeming person.
- 疑わしげに質問する – Suspiciously question.
- 恥ずかし気に答える – Answer embarassedly.
Nouns and Verbs
げ may also be used with a handful of nouns and verb ます stems.
These are rare enough you can basically learn them as vocabulary.
Examples
- 大人げない – Phrase meaning “not adult-like” -> Childish
- 訳ありげな雰囲気 – An atmosphere like there’s a reason.
If anyone can think of any others, please let me know.