げlooking …; with an air of
A feeling shows in someone's face, voice or manner: sad-looking, with an anxious air. げ is the storyteller's way to say it, and only a limited set of words takes it.
before a noun
She lowered her eyes and answered in a sad voice.
before a verb
He paced the corridor anxiously, checking the clock again and again.
How to form it
悲しい → 悲しげ ／ 不安 → 不安げ ／ ある → ありげ ／ 言いたい → 言いたげ
An い-adjective loses its い, and so does たい. A な-adjective goes in as it is. Only certain words take it, mostly words for feelings. The result is a な-adjective: 悲しげだ, 悲しげな声, 悲しげに笑う.
- Said about
- Other people, seen from outside: a face, eyes, a voice, the way they do something.
- Where you'll meet it
- Novels, essays, song lyrics, feature writing. In conversation people mostly say そう: 悲しそう.
The words you will meet
悲しげsad-looking
She smiled sadly as she looked at the old photograph.
楽しげlooking happy
The children are playing happily in the park.
不安げanxious-looking
When he was asked a question, he looked away and fell into an uneasy silence.
満足げlooking pleased
My father kept looking over the finished model, clearly pleased with it.
得意げlooking pleased with yourself
My little brother proudly showed off his test with a perfect score.
自信ありげlooking confident
The presenter answered the questions in a calm voice, looking sure of himself.
意味ありげmeaningful, knowing
The department head pointed meaningfully at one part of the document.
何か言いたげlooking as if you have something to say
He was looking at me as if he had something to say.
Others in the set: 寂しげ (lonely), 苦しげ (in pain), 誇らしげ (proud), 不満げ (discontented), 怪しげ (shady).
悲しそう or 悲しげ?
She wore a sad look.
The same face, in a novel.
そうだ goes on nearly any adjective, and on verbs. げ sticks to its own short list.
Not said: この
(This cake looks delicious.)
おいしい isn't in the set: おいしそうだ.
Close neighbours
そうだN4
The everyday "looks". It also guesses at what you haven't checked, and at what is about to happen: おいしそう, 降りそう.
The two of them were chatting, and looked like they were having a good time.
っぽいN3
A casual "-ish": a touch of something, often said as a complaint. 子どもっぽい is "childish".
His way of thinking is childish.
Check yourself
1Which one fits?
この
Choose an answer to see why.
2What does this mean?
母は
Choose an answer to see why.
More detail
The opposite of 自信ありげ is 自信なさげ, "not looking confident". And among friends よさげ, "looks good", is slang.
This place looks good, doesn't it?
A few words with げ have meanings of their own: 大人げない, "childish" (said of an adult), and かわいげがない, "not at all endearing".
More sentences
Holding the medal she had won, she gave a satisfied smile.
The boy stood with his chest out, looking confident.