Copyright © 2026 Kotomora. All Rights Reserved.
めぼしい Japanese meaning | Kotomora
Freq. Frequency Top 100,000 Conjugation Meanings 1
i-adjective
notable ; important ; valuable ; conspicuous
usually written using kana alone
Describes something that stands out as noteworthy, valuable, or significant among others. Often used in negative sentences like めぼしいものはない (there's nothing notable).
I couldn't get any valuable information.
Written forms めぼしい Usage 66%
Usually written in kana; the kanji form 目ぼしい is less common.
目め ぼしい Usage 33%
Kanji form using 目; acceptable but less common than kana.
目め 星ぼし い Usage 1%
search-only kanji form
Search-only kanji form; not commonly used.
Similar words 目め 立だ つ 目立つ means 'to stand out' visually or socially, while めぼしい focuses on being noteworthy or valuable among a set.
重じゅう 要よう な 重要な is a general word for 'important', while めぼしい implies a sense of being worth noticing or picking out from a group.
Etymology Derived from 目 (め, 'eye') + 星 (ほし, 'star'), literally 'eye-star', referring to something that catches the eye. The exact historical development is uncertain.