1.
off the mark; wrong guess; irrelevant; wide of the mark
A guess, estimate, or response that completely misses the point or is far from the correct answer.
その予想は見当外れだった。
That prediction was off the mark.
見当外れな質問をしないでください。
Please don't ask irrelevant questions.
犯人の目星をつけたが、まったくの見当外れだった。
I thought I had identified the culprit, but I was completely wrong.
Composed of 見当 (guess/estimate) + 外れ (miss/off-target). Functions both as a noun and as a na-adjective modifier (見当外れな). The word 見当 itself comes from 見当て (aim/sight), so 見当外れ literally means "having missed one's aim."
COMMON COLLOCATIONS:
- 見当外れな答え: an off-the-mark answer
- 見当外れな批判: misguided criticism
- まったくの見当外れ: completely off the mark
- 見当外れもいいところだ: couldn't be more wrong
SIMILAR WORDS:
- 的外れ: off the mark; irrelevant — very close synonym; 的 (target) emphasizes missing the point even more directly
- 見当違い: mistaken; wrong guess — essentially the same meaning with 違い instead of 外れ
- 筋違い: misdirected; barking up the wrong tree — the logic or reasoning itself is on the wrong track