1.
dramatic pose (in kabuki); striking a pose
A stylized, frozen pose held by a kabuki actor at a climactic moment, often with crossed eyes and an exaggerated expression. By extension, any showy or boastful display of resolve.
役者が見得を切った。
The actor struck a dramatic pose.
歌舞伎の見得は観客が一番盛り上がる瞬間だ。
The mie pose is the moment in kabuki when the audience gets most excited.
「絶対勝ってみせる」と大きな見得を切ったが、結果は惨敗だった。
He made a big show of declaring "I'll definitely win," but the result was a crushing defeat.
Almost always appears in the idiom 見得を切る (to strike a dramatic pose). In the figurative sense, it describes making a bold declaration or showy display of resolve — often with an implication that the speaker may not deliver.
COMMON COLLOCATIONS:
- 見得を切る: to strike a pose; to make a bold declaration
- 大きな見得を切る: to make a grand show of resolve
- 見得を張る: to put on airs (less common variant)
SIMILAR WORDS:
- 見栄: vanity, showing off — same reading, related etymologically, but refers to outward appearance for social effect rather than a theatrical pose. 見栄を張る = to keep up appearances
- ポーズ: pose — loanword, generic and modern
- 大言壮語: big talk, grandiose words — emphasizes the boastful claim rather than the pose