っぽい
っぽい
suffix
-ish; -like; having the characteristics of
1.
-ish; -like; having the characteristics of; tending toward
Productive suffix attaching to nouns, verb stems, and adjective stems.
この色、ちょっとピンクっぽいね。
This color is kind of pinkish, isn't it?
彼は子供っぽいところがある。
He has a childish side to him.
今日は雨が降りそうっぽい。
It looks like it might rain today.
っぽい is a highly productive suffix meaning "-ish," "-like," or "tending toward." It creates i-adjectives from nouns, verb stems, and adjective stems.
ATTACHMENT PATTERNS:
- Noun + っぽい: 子供っぽい (childish), 大人っぽい (mature/adult-like)
- Verb stem + っぽい: 忘れっぽい (forgetful), 飽きっぽい (easily bored)
- Adjective stem + っぽい: 安っぽい (cheap-looking), 白っぽい (whitish)
NUANCE:
With nouns, っぽい often implies a slightly negative or superficial resemblance — 子供っぽい suggests "childish" rather than genuinely childlike. With colors, it simply means "-ish": 青っぽい (bluish).
CONJUGATION:
Behaves as an i-adjective:
- っぽくない (negative)
- っぽかった (past)
- っぽく (adverbial)
SIMILAR SUFFIXES:
- 〜らしい: befitting, typical of (more positive: 男らしい = manly)
- 〜みたい: looks like, resembles (more neutral)
- 〜的: -like, -esque (formal: 子供的)