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.

Usage patterns

〈人ひと〉に〈人ひと〉の面おも影かげが残のこるtraces of someone's appearance remain in another person
息子むすこには亡なき父ちちの面おも影かげが残のこっている。
There are still traces of his late father's looks in the son.
昔むかしの面おも影かげがないto show no trace of how something used to be
この町まちは開かい発はつが進すすみ、昔むかしの面おも影かげがない。
This town has been so developed that it shows no trace of what it used to be.
〈人ひと〉の面おも影かげを偲しのぶto fondly recall someone's remembered image
写しゃ真しんを見みて、亡なき母ははの面おも影かげを偲しのんだ。
Looking at the photo, I fondly recalled my late mother's face.

Kanji

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

Related words

名残なごりN1sense 2
名残 highlights the lingering, often sad feeling left by something that is ending, while 面影 focuses on the remembered or imagined visual image of a person or past state.
姿すがたN3sense 1
姿 is the visible, concrete form or figure of someone, whereas 面影 is the faint, remembered or imagined image that evokes resemblance to that person.

Don't confuse with

残ざん像ぞう sense 1
残像 is a technical term for an optical afterimage, while 面影 carries a poetic, emotional sense of a remembered or imagined face.

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.

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.