影かげ絵え

か

げ

え

Common wordFreq.FrequencyTop 50,000

Meanings

1

noun

shadow picture; silhouette; shadowgraph

Refers to images created by shadows, such as hand shadows or shadow puppetry, or to silhouette art in general.

子こ供どもの頃ころ、手てで影かげ絵えを作つくって遊あそんだ。

When I was a child, I made shadow pictures with my hands and played.

壁かべに映うつった影かげ絵えがきれいだった。

The silhouette cast on the wall was beautiful.

Usage patterns

〈物もの〉の影かげ絵えを作つくるto make a shadow picture of something
手てでウサギの影かげ絵えを作つくった。
I made a shadow picture of a rabbit with my hands.
影かげ絵えで遊あそぶto play by making hand-shadow shapes
子こ供どもたちは壁かべに影かげ絵えで遊あそんだ。
The children played by making shadow pictures on the wall.
影かげ絵え芝しば居いを見みるto watch a shadow-puppet play
学がっ校こうで影かげ絵え芝しば居いを見みた。
I watched a shadow-puppet play at school.

Kanji

影shadow, silhouette, phantom
絵picture, drawing, painting
画brush-stroke, picture

Related words

シルエット
シルエット is a loanword often used for fashion or design silhouettes, while 影絵 emphasizes the shadow-based image or art form.

Don't confuse with

影かげ法ぼう師し
影法師 refers to the shadow a person's own body casts, while 影絵 refers to a deliberately made shadow picture, such as a hand-shadow shape or shadow-puppet image.

Counted with

枚まいN3
counter for thin, flat objects; sheet; plate; coin · serving of soba; portion of gyōza · sumo rank position; wrestler at a given rank · field; rice paddy plot · palanquin bearer

Built from

影かげ+絵え

Written forms

影かげ絵えUsage99%
Standard kanji spelling; used in news and common vocabulary.
かげえUsage1%
影かげ画え
rarely-used kanji form
Rarely used kanji form; learners should recognize but not produce.

Etymology

Compound of 影 (kage, 'shadow') and 絵 (e, 'picture'). The exact historical origin is uncertain, but the word naturally describes pictures made from shadows.