っぽい

Japanese

Etymology

Emphasis of earlier form ぽい (poi), in turn apparently an Edo-period shift from 多い (ōi, “many, much, lots of”), based on earlier kana spelling おほい.

Suffix

っぽい • (-ppoi) 

1. -like, -ish, -esque

   子(こ)供(ども)っぽい

   kodomoppoi

   childish

   彼(かの)女(じょ)の目(め)は緑(みどり)っぽい色(いろ)です。

   Kanojo no me wa midorippoi iro desu.

   Her eyes are of a greenish color.

   レトロっぽい

   retoroppoi

   retroesque

   フュージョンっぽい

   fyūjonppoi

   fusionesque

Usage notes

• Inflects as an -i adjective (形容詞).
• Follows nouns, stems of adjectives, and continuative (連用形) forms of verbs.
• In certain contexts, this っぽい (-ppoi) may have overtones that the quality is inappropriate or unexpected, contrasting with らしい (-rashī) with overtones that the quality is appropriate and expected. Compare the contextual contrast between English suffixes -ish and -ly or -like, where the former is negative and the latter is positive:
  • 男(おとこ)っぽい、女(おんな)っぽい、子供(こども)っぽい

    otokoppoi, onnappoi, kodomoppoi

    mannish, womanish, childish

  • 男(おとこ)らしい、女(おんな)らしい、子供(こども)らしい

    otokorashii, onnarashii, kodomorashii

    manly, womanly, childlike

Inflection

Inflection of っぽい

Stem forms
Imperfective (未然形)	っぽかろ	ppokaro
Continuative (連用形)	っぽく	ppoku
Terminal (終止形)	っぽい	ppoi
Attributive (連体形)	っぽい	ppoi
Hypothetical (仮定形)	っぽけれ	ppokere
Imperative (命令形)	っぽかれ	ppokare
Key constructions
Informal negative	っぽくない	ppoku nai
Informal past	っぽかった	ppokatta
Informal negative past	っぽくなかった	ppoku nakatta
Formal	っぽいです	ppoi desu
Formal negative	っぽくないです	ppoku nai desu
Formal past	っぽかったです	ppokatta desu
Formal negative past	っぽくなかったです	ppoku nakatta desu
Conjunctive	っぽくて	ppokute
Conditional	っぽければ	ppokereba
Provisional	っぽかったら	ppokattara
Volitional	っぽかろう	ppokarō
Adverbial	っぽく	ppoku
Degree	っぽさ	pposa

Synonyms

• みたい (mitai)

See also

• ぽい (poi)