面おも影かげ

お

も

か

げ

Common wordJLPTN1Freq.FrequencyTop 20,000

Meanings

1

noun

face; looks; countenance

Refers to the remembered or imagined appearance of a person, often tinged with nostalgia or resemblance to someone else.

彼かの女じょの面おも影かげは今いまも心こころに残のこっている。
Her face still lingers in my mind.
その

少しょう

年ねん

に

は

父ちち

親おや

の

面おも

影かげ

が

ある

。

The boy bears a resemblance to his father.

2

noun

vestige; trace; reminder

Used for faint remnants of a past state, person, or thing; often in expressions like 面影がない (no trace remains) or 昔の面影 (vestiges of the past).

この町まちには昔むかしの面おも影かげがほとんど残のこっていない。
Hardly any trace of the old town remains here.
彼かれの顔かおには若わかい頃ころの面おも影かげがまだある。
His face still has a vestige of his younger days.

Written forms

面おも影かげUsage87%
Standard kanji spelling; high priority.
おもかげUsage8%
俤おもかげUsage5%
rarely-used kanji form
Rarely used kanji form.

Kanji

面mask, face, features
影shadow, silhouette, phantom
俤visage, face, trace

Similar words

名残なごり
名残 emphasizes the lingering feeling or farewell trace of something that is ending, while 面影 focuses on the visual or remembered image of a person or past state.
残ざん像ぞう
残像 is a more technical term for an afterimage or lingering visual impression, whereas 面影 carries a poetic, emotional nuance.

Etymology

Compound of 面 (omo, 'face') and 影 (kage, 'shadow, image'). The exact historical derivation is uncertain, but the combination naturally yields the sense of a remembered or reflected image of a person.