Word
目付き
Meaning in Englishlook, expression of the eyes, eyes
Animated kanji stroke order
Sentence
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Word context
What it means
目付き means the look or expression formed by the eyes; it refers to the visible impression produced by a person’s gaze, not to the eyes themselves.
Main meanings
- primary meaning: the look or expression conveyed by the eyes
- nuances: mood or attitude inferred from the eyes, such as suspicion, warmth, hostility
- collocations: common phrases like 目つきが悪い and 目つきが鋭い
- contextual use: can indicate character or emotion in prose or conversation
How to use it
Used to describe the look in a person’s eyes and the mood it conveys; commonly appears in narrative descriptions and casual conversation; typically with が or の to mark the subject and with adjectives such as 鋭い or 優しい to specify the impression.
Variants and close terms
- 眼差し (manazashi) — gaze
- 視線 (shisen) — line of sight or glance
- 表情 (hyōjō) — facial expression
- 目つきが悪い (metsuki ga warui) — a harsh look; 目つきが優しい (metsuki ga yasashii) — a gentle look
Composition
- 目: eye
- 付き: attached; suffix indicating possession or state
- Overall: expresses the state or appearance of the eyes and what that appearance communicates
Etymology
metsuki is built from 目 meaning eye and 付き from 付く meaning attached/with; the noun form indicates the state of looking, and the pronunciation combines the components as me + tsuki to produce metsuki.
Word class
noun (名詞)
Word
Related words by kanji and components
N1
目盛
memori
scale, gradations
N1
面目
memboku
face, honor, reputation
N1
目録
mokuroku
catalogue, catalog, list
N1
目論見
mokuromi
a plan, a scheme, intention
N1
人目
hitome
glimpse, public gaze
N2
目下
mokka
at present, now
N2
～時間目
～jikamme
~th hour, ~th period
N2
～丁目
～choume
~ district (of a town; city, block)
N2
～付
～tsuki
with ~
Kanji