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').
覗きを働く。
To commit an act of voyeurism.
覗きの被害にあった。
I was the victim of a Peeping Tom.
警察はアパートの周辺で覗きを繰り返していた男を逮捕した。
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 覗き穴 ('peephole') or 覗き見 ('a peek').
ドアの覗き穴から外を見た。
I looked outside through the peephole in the door.
子どもが塀の隙間から覗きをしていた。
The child was peeking through a gap in the fence.
カーテンの隙間からの覗きで、部屋の中の様子が少し見えた。
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 働く ('to engage in [a bad act]') or 被害にあう ('to be a victim of'), it almost always carries the voyeurism sense. In compounds such as 覗き穴, 覗き見, or 覗き込む-related contexts, the neutral meaning is normal.
COMMON COLLOCATIONS:
- 覗き穴: peephole (in a door)
- 覗き見: a peek; peeking (can be neutral or invasive)
- 覗きを働く: to commit voyeurism
- 覗き魔: a Peeping Tom (strong term)
- 覗き行為: the act of voyeurism (legal/news term)
- 覗きの被害にあう: to be a victim of a Peeping Tom
SIMILAR WORDS:
- 覗く: to peek; to peer into — the base verb
- 盗み見: secretly looking at something; peeking at someone's private info (e.g. a screen, a letter)
- 盗撮: secret filming/photography — a related but distinct crime
- 覗き込む: 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 覗き行為. The neutral 'peek' sense is everyday Japanese.