seeming to have a problem; looking like there's a story
Describes a person, situation, or thing that appears to have some hidden trouble, complication, or backstory. Often used when someone looks troubled or something seems off.
He sighed with a look that suggested something was troubling him.
That old house looks like it has some kind of story behind it.
Standard kanji spelling using the common ありげ suffix.
Variant using 気; less common but still encountered.
Compound of 訳 (わけ, 'reason, circumstance') + あり (the continuative form of ある, 'to exist') + げ (a suffix indicating appearance or seeming). Literally 'seeming to have circumstances'.