似合う
Meaning in Englishsuit, look good on, match
Animated kanji stroke order
Related sentences
Related sentences
There are no published items in this section yet.
Word context
What it means
What does 似合う mean? It denotes that a person or thing harmonizes in appearance or style, fitting well with the wearer’s look, personality, or the surrounding context.
Main meanings
- Becoming in clothing or accessories that flatter the wearer.
- Colors, patterns, or styles that harmonize with a person’s features or overall look.
- Broader use to describe anything that fits a situation or role, not limited to fashion.
How to use it
Used to describe appearance in fashion and styling, with items such as clothing, colors, hairstyles, or accessories; commonly framed as [X]は[Y]に似合う in casual and polite speech; the construction accepts negation as 似合わない to express that something does not suit; frequent in compliments and style advice.
Variants and close terms
- 映える haeru — to stand out or look striking
- ふさわしい fusawashii — appropriate, fitting
- 似合わない niwanai — not suited
Composition
- 似: to resemble, similarity
- 合: to fit, to match
Etymology
Phonetic evolution The pronunciation にあう arises from a native combination where 似 contributes the phoneme に and 合う supplies あう; the word is formed as a native Japanese compound rather than a loan or semantic portmanteau.
Word class
Verb (godan)