JLPT N3
っぽい
~ish / Seems like
Structure
Noun/Verb stem っぽい
How it works
The suffix っぽい is used to describe something that has a strong tendency or quality of a certain noun or verb, often used informally. It can mean 'to be like something' (child-ish) or 'to do something frequently' (forget-ful). It generally carries a slightly negative or casual nuance compared to the more formal らしい.
Examples
彼は大人なのに、話し方が子供っぽいです。
Even though he is an adult, his way of speaking is childish.
この料理はちょっと油っぽくて、全部食べられません。
This food is a bit oily, so I can't eat it all.
最近、忘れっぽくなって困っています。
Recently, I've become forgetful and it's a problem.
Common mistakes
Confusing っぽい with らしい. Use っぽい for subjective, often negative appearances (white-ish, cheap-looking), and らしい for things that truly behave as they should be (a typical man, like a doctor).
Tip
Think of っぽい as describing the 'flavor' of something rather than its essence. It is also very common for colors, like 白っぽい (whitish) or 黒っぽい (blackish).
More JLPT N3 grammar
See っぽい in real Japanese
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