Tendency and state

～っぽい

-ish; tending to ~; having the feel of ~

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How to form it

  • Noun + っぽい
  • Verb (ます-stem) + っぽい
  • い-adjective (stem) + っぽい

Register: Casual; spoken

Explanation

Says that something has the look, feel or tendency of the thing named, or that a person tends to do something.

It is casual and often slightly negative: 子供っぽい (childish), 水っぽい (watery), 忘れっぽい (forgetful). Colours with っぽい mean -ish.

Examples

  1. 彼は子供っぽいところがある。

    かれはこどもっぽいところがある。

    He has a childish side.

  2. このスープは水っぽくて、おいしくない。

    このスープはみずっぽくて、おいしくない。

    This soup is watery and not tasty.

  3. 最近、忘れっぽくなった。

    さいきん、わすれっぽくなった。

    Lately I have become forgetful.

  4. 彼女は、いつも黒っぽい服を着ている。

    かのじょは、いつもくろっぽいふくをきている。

    She always wears blackish clothes.

Compare with

  • ～らしい(典型): らしい means 'truly like, befitting' (usually positive); っぽい is '-ish', often neutral or negative.
  • ～がち: がち also shows a tendency, but with verbs and a more formal tone.

Common mistakes

  • Using it in formal writing, where らしい or a plain adjective is more suitable. っぽい is casual and often negative, but it can be neutral or positive (大人っぽい).