N1 Appearance, Manner, and Resemblance

~めく / ~めいて / ~めいた: meaning, usage and examples

~めく / ~めいて / ~めいた means: to seem... / -like / -ish.

Updated 9 November 2026 · By the My Senpai team · Spotted a mistake? Tell us

Examples

1. 少すこしずつ春はるめいてきましたね。

   It's starting to feel a bit like spring, isn't it?

2. 彼かれは、冗談じょうだんめいた口調くちょうで、本当ほんとうのことを言いった。

   He told the truth in a half-joking tone.

3. 佐藤さとうさんの皮肉ひにくめいた言いい方かたが、少すこし気きになった。

   Mr. Sato's slightly sarcastic way of putting it bothered me a little.

4. 差出人さしだしにんの名前なまえがない、謎なぞめいた手紙てがみが届とどいた。

   A mysterious letter arrived with no sender's name on it.

When to use it

Shows that something has a hint of a quality or starts to look like it, without fully being it: 春はるめく (feel like spring), 冗談じょうだんめいた口調くちょう (a half-joking tone), 謎なぞめいた人物じんぶつ (a mysterious person), 皮肉ひにくめいた言いい方かた. Example: 春はるめいてきました, it is starting to feel like spring.

Nuance

Slightly literary and used with a limited set of nouns: seasons (春はる, 秋あき), 冗談じょうだん, 皮肉ひにく, 謎なぞ, 言いい訳わけ, 説教せっきょう, 脅おどし. It carries a "somewhat, a touch of" feeling. めいた + Noun is the most common form.

Compare

らしい means having the typical qualities of the real thing: 春はるらしい天気てんき (true spring weather). めく means showing signs of it: 春はるめいてきた (it is starting to feel like spring). っぽい is casual and wider: 冗談じょうだんっぽい. めく is the written form.

Tip: Memorize めく with its partners: 春はるめく, 秋あきめく, 謎なぞめいた, 冗談じょうだんめいた, 皮肉ひにくめいた, 言いい訳わけめいた. Using it with random nouns sounds odd.