覗(のぞ)き

のぞき
noun
peeping; voyeurism; peek
lawaction
1. peeping (Tom); voyeurism (illegal act of secretly watching someone)
The act of secretly watching someone — typically through a window, gap, or small hole — especially in a sexual or invasive context. Used as a legal and news term for the crime of voyeurism, and also as a noun for the person who does this (a 'Peeping Tom').
覗(のぞ)きを働(はたら)く。
To commit an act of voyeurism.
覗(のぞ)きの被害(ひがい)にあった。
I was the victim of a Peeping Tom.
警察(けいさつ)はアパートの周辺(しゅうへん)で覗(のぞ)きを繰(く)り返(かえ)していた男(おとこ)を逮捕(たいほ)した。
The police arrested a man who had been repeatedly peeping around the apartment building.
2. a peek; a quick glance (neutral sense)
A brief or partial look at something through a small opening or from around a corner. Neutral usage, often appearing in compounds like 覗(のぞ)き穴(あな) ('peephole') or 覗(のぞ)き見(み) ('a peek').
ドアの覗(のぞ)き穴(あな)から外(そと)を見(み)た。
I looked outside through the peephole in the door.
子(こ)どもが塀(へい)の隙間(すきま)から覗(のぞ)きをしていた。
The child was peeking through a gap in the fence.
カーテンの隙間(すきま)からの覗(のぞ)きで、部屋(へや)の中(なか)の様子(ようす)が少(すこ)し見(み)えた。
By peeking through a gap in the curtain, I could see a little of what was happening inside the room.

The noun form of the verb 覗(のぞ)く ('to peek; to peer in'). Meaning shifts sharply depending on context: in crime/news contexts it refers to voyeurism, while in neutral contexts it simply means 'a peek' or appears in everyday compounds.

Usage

In isolation, especially with verbs like 働(はたら)く ('to engage in [a bad act]') or 被害(ひがい)にあう ('to be a victim of'), it almost always carries the voyeurism sense. In compounds such as 覗(のぞ)き穴(あな), 覗(のぞ)き見(み), or 覗(のぞ)き込(こ)む-related contexts, the neutral meaning is normal.

Common collocations

  • 覗(のぞ)き穴(あな): peephole (in a door)
  • 覗(のぞ)き見(み): a peek; peeking (can be neutral or invasive)
  • 覗(のぞ)きを働(はたら)く: to commit voyeurism
  • 覗(のぞ)き魔(ま): a Peeping Tom (strong term)
  • 覗(のぞ)き行為(こうい): the act of voyeurism (legal/news term)
  • 覗(のぞ)きの被害(ひがい)にあう: to be a victim of a Peeping Tom

Similar words

  • 覗(のぞ)く: to peek; to peer into — the base verb
  • 盗(ぬす)み見(み): secretly looking at something; peeking at someone's private info (e.g. a screen, a letter)
  • 盗撮(とうさつ): secret filming/photography — a related but distinct crime
  • 覗(のぞ)き込(こ)む: to peer into; lean in to look (neutral, not a crime)

Register

The voyeurism sense is mildly taboo; news reports often prefer the more formal 覗(のぞ)き行為(こうい). The neutral 'peek' sense is everyday Japanese.

Related Words

Compare: 覗(のぞ)く (to peek)
Compare: 盗(ぬす)み見(み) (secretly looking at something)
Compare: 盗撮(とうさつ) (secret filming/photography)
Compare: 窃視 (voyeurism)
general
Added 2026.4.15 4:07 · Revised 2026.9.2 13:02
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