っぽい
-ppoi[p̚po̞i]
The English word "ish" can be expressed in Japanese using the suffix っぽい (-ppoi).
The suffix っぽい is used to express that something resembles a certain quality or tends to behave in a certain way. It is used to say something is "-ish" or has the quality of something else.
Meaning: about, approximately (adv)
Which one should you use?
It is important to distinguish っぽい from words used for numerical approximations. While っぽい means "ish" in the sense of resembling or tending to, it is distinct from terms like goro which are used to mean "about" or "around" in a temporal or numerical sense.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
The suffix っぽい is colloquial and is more common in spoken language than in formal writing.
How does it change in a sentence?
っぽい is a suffix that attaches to nouns or verbs to mean "ish" or "having the quality of".
How do you pronounce it?
-ppoi
Did you know?
- The modern suffix っぽい actually evolved from the word for 'many' or 'much', which was originally pronounced 'opoi' during the Edo period.
- While 'ish' is often a soft qualifier in English, adding っぽい to a person's trait can be dismissive, implying they are merely acting like or resembling a certain type of person rather than actually being that way.
- The suffix っぽい can be attached to the verb 笑う (warau, to laugh) to create 笑いっぽい (warai-ppoi), meaning someone who is 'laughing-ish' or prone to laughing often.
Examples in context
- おおよそ１０００人の人々が集まりました。Roughly 1,000 people gathered.
- あの映画はだいたい１時間半くらいです。That movie is about an hour and a half long.
- プロっぽいです。puroppoi desu.It looks professional-ish.
Example conversation
Ren and Misaki are deciding when to eat dinner.
- 蓮 Ren美咲、夕飯は何時にする？Misaki, yuuhan wa nan-ji ni suru?Misaki, what time shall we have dinner?
- 美咲 Misaki７時っぽい時間でいいよ。shichi-ji ppoi jikan de ii yo.Around 7 o'clock is fine.
- 蓮 Renわかった。じゃあ、準備するね。wakatta. jaa, junbi suru ne.Got it. I'll get ready then.
- 美咲 Misakiお願い、蓮。onegai, Ren.Please do, Ren.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry っぽい, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries っぽい, CC BY-SA 4.0.
