見みかける

み

か

け

る

Common wordJLPTN2Freq.FrequencyTop 10,000

見かける · ichidan verb

Form	Positive	Negative
Dictionary	見みかける	見みかけない
Polite	見みかけます	見みかけません
Past polite	見みかけました	見みかけませんでした
Past	見みかけた	見みかけなかった
Te-form	見みかけて	見みかけないで
Desire	見みかけたい	見みかけたくない
Potential	見みかけられるalso 見みかけれる	見みかけられないalso 見みかけれない
Passive	見みかけられる	見みかけられない
Causative	見みかけさせる	見みかけさせない
Causative passive	見みかけさせられる	見みかけさせられない
Volitional	見みかけよう
Polite volitional	見みかけましょう
Imperative	見みかけろ	見みかけるな
Conditional	見みかければ	見みかけなければ
Tara conditional	見みかけたら	見みかけなかったら

Meanings

ichidan verb, transitive verb

happen to see; notice; catch sight of

Used when you see someone or something by chance, without actively looking for it. Often implies a casual, incidental encounter.

駅えきでよく彼かれを見みかける。
I often see him at the station.
この辺あたりで珍めずらしい鳥とりを見みかけた。
I caught sight of a rare bird around here.

See all 543 example sentences ›

Usage patterns

〈場ば所しょ〉で〈人ひと〉を見みかけるto happen to see someone at a place
駅えきで昔むかしの同どう級きゅう生せいを見みかけた。
I happened to see an old classmate at the station.
よく見みかけるto often see (something/someone)
最さい近きんこのあたりでよく野の良ら猫ねこを見みかける。
I often see stray cats around here lately.
最さい近きん見みかけないhaven't seen (someone/something) lately
彼かれを最さい近きん見みかけないね。
I haven't seen him around lately.
見みかけたことがあるto have seen (someone/something) before
どこかで見みかけたことがある顔かおだ。
That's a face I've seen somewhere before.

Expressions

見みかけによらずin contrast to one's appearance; despite how one looks
見みかけによらないdoes not match one's appearance; looks can be deceiving
人ひとは見みかけによらぬものappearances can be deceiving; don't judge a book by its cover

Kanji

見see, hopes, chances
掛hang, suspend, depend

Related words

見みるN5
見る is the general verb for seeing or looking at something, while 見かける specifically means to spot something or someone by chance.
目めにするN2
目にする and 見かける both mean to happen to see something, but 目にする is slightly more formal and often used for things rather than people.
目もく撃げきN2
目撃する means to witness something (often an event or incident) and is more formal than 見かける, which is used for everyday casual sightings.
見み受うける
見かける means to happen to notice someone or something without any judgment, while 見受ける adds a sense of forming an impression or supposition from what is seen.
散さん見けん
散見 is a formal word for something appearing sporadically across multiple places, while 見かける is a casual verb meaning to happen to notice something.

Opposites

見み落おとすN1
見かける means to happen to notice something, while 見落とす means to fail to notice it even though it was there.

Don't confuse with

見みつけるN4
見つける implies actively searching for and locating something, whereas 見かける implies an unplanned, incidental sighting.
垣間見かいまみる
見かける means to happen to notice someone or something by chance, without the 'through a gap or barrier' nuance carried by 垣間見る.

Word family

見みかけN2
outward appearance; looks · apparent; seeming
見みかけ上じょう
apparent; seeming; outward
見みかけ倒だおし
all show and no substance; not as good as it looks

Written forms

見みかけるUsage89%
Standard spelling; the most frequent written form in modern Japanese.
みかけるUsage6%
見み掛かけるUsage5%
Alternative kanji spelling using 掛; less common but still encountered.

Etymology

Compound of 見 (mi, 'see') + かける (kakeru, 'to start to do' or 'to be in the middle of'), literally 'to be in the act of seeing'. The incidental nuance developed from the idea of catching sight of something while doing something else.