N3 · Expressions (N3)
っぽい, がち, ぎみ: -ish, prone to, a touch of
three endings for tendencies
っぽい says something looks or feels like X, がち that it tends to happen, and ぎみ that there is a slight touch of it.
At a glance
- Remember
- っぽい: looks like it. がち: tends to. ぎみ: a touch of — and the last two are rarely good news.
- Form
- 子どもっぽいchildish
- Signal words
- 〜っぽい
- 〜がち
- 〜がちな
- 〜気味
- Trap
- Wrong:今日は元気気味です。Right:今日はちょっと疲れ気味です。
Your turn
9 exercises on this topic. Your answers are checked in the browser; none of them leaves your device.
The form
| childish | 子どもっぽい |
| forgetful | 忘れっぽい |
| often late | 遅れがち |
| often ill | 病気がち |
| a bit of a cold | 風邪気味 |
| a bit tired | 疲れ気味 |
The rules one by one
The form this topic is about
っぽい makes an i-adjective meaning "-ish" or "seems like".
彼は大人なのに、考え方が子どもっぽい。He is an adult, but his way of thinking is childish.
がち says something tends to happen, usually something unwelcome.
冬は運動不足になりがちだ。In winter people tend not to get enough exercise.
ぎみ says there is a slight touch of something.
最近、少し疲れ気味です。I have been a bit tired lately.
がち and ぎみ take な before a noun and だ at the end, like a na-adjective.
休みがちな学生に連絡した。I contacted the student who often misses class.
Example sentences
最近、忘れっぽくなった。I have become forgetful lately.
この黒っぽい服が好きだ。I like this blackish outfit.
雨の日はバスが遅れがちだ。On rainy days the buses tend to be late.
子どものころは病気がちでした。As a child I was often ill.
風邪気味なので、今日は早く帰ります。I have a touch of a cold, so I am going home early today.
最近、仕事が遅れ気味だ。Work has been falling a little behind lately.
7 more example sentences
この話は嘘っぽい。This story sounds made up.
父は怒りっぽい。My father is quick to lose his temper.
忙しいと、食事が不規則になりがちだ。When you are busy, meals tend to become irregular.
彼女は遠慮がちに話した。She spoke rather hesitantly.
最近太り気味なので、夜は少ししか食べない。I have been putting on a bit of weight, so I eat only a little at night.
今日は寝不足気味だ。I am a little short of sleep today.
あの人は少し大人っぽい服を着ている。That person wears rather grown-up clothes.
The trap English speakers fall into
Watch out
English "a bit" goes with anything, good or bad, and learners attach 気味 to whatever they want to soften. But 気味, like がち, describes an unwelcome tendency: a cold, tiredness, weight, delay. Feeling well is said plainly.
The full explanation
Read it all · about 1 min
っぽい attaches to a noun, an adjective stem or a verb stem and makes an i-adjective meaning "-ish", "like": 子どもっぽい, "childish"; 白っぽい, "whitish"; 忘れっぽい, "forgetful". It is casual, and it describes an impression rather than a fact: 風邪っぽい is "I think I am getting a cold".
がち attaches to a noun or a ます-stem and says that something tends to happen, usually something unwelcome: 遅れがち, "often late"; 病気がち, "often ill"; 忘れがち, "apt to forget". It behaves like a na-adjective: 遅れがちな電車, 休みがちだ.
気味 attaches to a noun or a ます-stem and says there is a slight touch of something, again usually something unwelcome: 風邪気味, "a bit of a cold"; 疲れ気味, "a bit tired"; 太り気味, "getting a bit plump". It too works like a na-adjective or a noun: 疲れ気味だ, 風邪気味なので.
All three soften. English often says "a bit", "kind of" or "tends to", and learners use ちょっと or よく instead: よく遅れる is correct but plain. The endings also carry a judgement — っぽい about a person is often critical, and がち and 気味 describe tendencies nobody wants.
A closer look
っぽい, らしい and みたい
After a noun, all three can sound like "like". 子どもっぽい is "childish": like a child, when the person is not one, and usually a criticism. 子どもらしい is "childlike", the proper qualities of a child, and is a compliment for a child.
子どもみたい is a comparison: "like a child". It is neutral and the plainest of the three. Choosing between them is choosing how kind to be.
Exceptions and special cases (1)
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っぽい follows a ます-stem
it means "easily, readily": 忘れっぽい, "forgets easily"; 怒りっぽい, "quick to anger"; 飽きっぽい, "soon bored".
弟は飽きっぽくて、何も続かない。My younger brother gets bored quickly and never sticks with anything.
After a verb there is nothing to resemble, so the "-ish" becomes a character trait: somebody who is like forgetting all the time.
Worth knowing (1)
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っぽい in casual guesses
Young speakers use っぽい after almost anything to hedge a statement: 雨降るっぽい, "looks like rain", 彼、来ないっぽい, "seems he isn't coming". It is very casual and best kept for friends.
あの店、今日は休みっぽいよ。Looks like that shop is closed today.
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