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上目遣い (うわめづかい) Japanese meaning | Kotomora
Meanings 1
noun
looking up at someone ; glancing upwards
Describes the act of looking upward at someone, often with a particular expression or intent, such as coyness, pleading, or submissiveness. Commonly used in phrases like 上目遣いで見る.
いる
。
The puppy is begging for a treat with an upward glance.
Written forms 上うわ 目め 遣づか い
Standard kanji spelling using 遣い.
上うわ 目め 使づか い
Variant spelling using 使い; commonly seen but 遣い is more precise for this meaning.
上うわ 目め づかい
Mixed kana-kanji spelling; less common but still used.
Kanji 遣 dispatch, despatch, send 使 use, send on a mission, order Similar words 下した 目め 遣づか い Means looking down at someone, the opposite direction.
横よこ 目め 遣づか い Means looking sideways or out of the corner of one's eye.
Etymology Compound of 上目 (uwame, 'upward glance') + 遣い (zukai, 'way of using'). The exact historical derivation is uncertain, but the word has been used since at least the Edo period to describe a specific manner of looking.
