Grammar Info

N1 Lesson 7: 12/17

めくLike, To show signs of, To have the appearance of, To come to a (state) similar to, Somewhat, An air of, Feels almost like

Structure

Noun + めいて
Noun + めいている
Noun［Season］ + めいてきた​​
Noun + めいた + Noun

Details

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About めく・めいた

めく is a fairly unique う-Verb in Japanese in that it will only be used as a suffix. This is due to its meaning of 'to show signs of (A)', or 'to have the appearance of (A)'. It will be attached to nouns that the speaker experiences to be the case.

As めく itself is a verb, it may appear in several different conjugation forms depending on how it is describing the rest of the sentence. When connected directly to a second noun, the past-tense form めいた is most common.

This 'that the speaker experiences to be the case' part is important, as めく will almost always highlight the speaker's own personal feelings in regard to (A), and how they perceive it. The thing being described as (A) will usually not actually be (A), and the speaker is often aware of this fact.

Caution

めく is mostly used with set nouns, so it is best to only use it with expressions that you have already heard. Some examples are 謎(なぞ)めく 'to appear to be a riddle', 皮肉(ひにく)めく 'to appear to be sarcastic', 言(い)い訳(わけ)めく 'to appear to be an excuse', 作(つく)り物(もの)めく 'to appear to be fictitious', and seasons of the year.

Examples

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    手紙(てがみ)の挨拶(あいさつ)：「九月(くがつ)になると空(そら)も風(かぜ)もだいぶ秋(あき)めいてまいりました。お変(か)わりありませんか。」

    Greetings in letter：In September, the sky and wind start to get quite autumn-like. How have you been?

    小説(しょうせつ)：「その知(し)らせを聞(き)いて彼女(かのじょ)の顔(かお)には謎(なぞ)めいた微笑(びしょう)が浮(う)かんでいた。」

    Novel: 'Hearing the news, a somewhat mysterious smile appeared on her face.'

    作(つく)り物(もの)めいて見(み)えるほど、平穏(へいおん)で美(うつく)しい景色(けしき)だった。

    It was calm and beautiful scenery, to the point of looking man-made.

    小説(しょうせつ)：「いつのまにか冬(ふゆ)は去(さ)り、かなり春(はる)めいていた。」

    Novel: 'Before I knew it, it had already gotten quite spring-like.'

    彼女(かのじょ)の気分(きぶん)を上(あ)げるため、何(なに)か冗談(じょうだん)めいた、とるに足(た)りない話(はなし)をしようとした。

    In order to improve her mood, I tried to tell a joke-like, non-serious story.

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      めく・めいた – Grammar Discussion

      Most Recent Replies (3 in total)

      • matt_in_mito

        matt_in_mito

        Can anyone enlighten me as to why this takes this form? I can’t get my head round it…

      • shankarsuresh

        shankarsuresh

        I’ve got the same question wrong too (originally put めいた)

      • casual

        casual

        I don’t have an answer as to why that is, but it seems you use めいてる・めいて来た・めいていた when it is the main verb (not a relative clause modifying a noun). Maybe to the native ear “to be showing signs of X” just sounds like a continuous process.

        Some more examples from https://japanesetest4you.com/flashcard/learn-jlpt-n1-grammar-めく-meku/, めく – Vocabulary details – jpdb, and 【JLPT N1】「めく」 - 日本語教師のN1et

        • 冗談めいてるけど、本気でそう思ってるように聞こえる。
        • 簡単でむずかしいとは、なんだかすこし逆説めいているぜ。
        • 犯人は二歳以上十歳まで、大人しめ、無邪気ながら、どこか狂気めいていた。

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