N2 Appearance, Impressions, and Feelings

~げ: meaning, usage and examples

~げ means: -looking / seeming... (appearance).

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

Examples

1. 彼女かのじょは寂さびしげな表情ひょうじょうをしている。

   She has a lonely-looking expression.

2. 子供こどもたちは楽たのしげに遊あそんでいる。

   The children are playing happily.

3. 鈴木すずきさんは試験しけんの結果けっかを得意とくいげに話はなしていた。

   Ms. Suzuki was talking proudly about her test results.

4. その犬いぬは悲かなしげな目めでこちらを見みていた。

   The dog was looking at us with sad-looking eyes.

When to use it

げ turns a feeling adjective into a "-looking" form that describes how someone appears from the outside, as in 不安ふあんげな顔かお or 悲かなしげに笑わらう. It is used for emotions you can see in another person's face, voice or manner. A few fixed words come from verbs or nouns: 自信じしんありげ, 意味いみありげ.

Nuance

Slightly literary; common in novels, essays and careful description, less so in casual talk. It is used for other people, not for the speaker's own feelings. It mainly attaches to feeling words (寂さびしい, 楽たのしい, 不安ふあん, 得意とくい).

Compare

そうだ (appearance) is the everyday form and works with almost any adjective: おいしそう, 高たかそう. げ is mostly limited to emotions and sounds more written: 寂さびしげ. らしい means "typical of" or "I hear," not appearance.

Tip: Do not use げ for taste or things like weather: おいしげ is wrong. Keep it for feelings, and use そう elsewhere.