〜めかす

Make Look Like

Level 5Sounds Like mekasu

The suffix 〜めかす is used to create verbs that mean "to give an air of" or "to make look like." It is the transitive (active) counterpart to 〜めく. While 〜めく describes a quality that is naturally present, 〜めかす describes the active manifestation or styling of that quality.

How It Works

〜めかす attaches primarily to nouns to form a Godan (Type 1) verb. It is a formal or literary expression with low productivity, meaning it is mostly found in specific set phrases rather than being used with any noun.

1. The Transitive Relationship:
The most important aspect is its relationship with 〜めく. While 〜めく describes a state (e.g., 謎めく（なぞめく）- to be mysterious), 〜めかす describes an active presentation or behavior (e.g., 謎めかす（なぞめかす）- to act in a mysterious way or make something look mysterious).

2. Nuance and Usage:
This pattern often describes how someone intentionally presents themselves or an atmosphere they are creating. Because it is not highly productive, you will mostly see it in expressions like:

  • 冗談めかす（じょうだんめかす）- to say something in a joke-like manner
  • 秘密めかす（ひみつめかす）- to make something seem like a secret
  • 古めかす（ふるめかす）- to make something look old (one of the few remaining adjective-stem uses)

A common set phrase is ほのめかす, meaning 'to hint at' or 'to insinuate.'

3. Conjugation:

  • Dictionary: 〜めかす
  • Te-form: 〜めかして (often used to describe the manner of an action)
  • Ta-form: 〜めかした (often used as an adjective to modify nouns, e.g., 冗談めかした言い方（じょうだんめかしたいいかた）- a joke-like way of speaking)

Examples (4)

  1. 彼は冗談めかして、彼女にプロポーズした。

    He proposed to her in a joking manner.

    Word by Word: He joke-like-doing, to her proposal did.

    Here, the speaker uses 'joking manner' to suggest the man might be hiding his true feelings or nerves by making the proposal seem like a joke.

  2. その学者は、わざと専門用語を並べて学者めかした話し方をした。

    That scholar intentionally used technical terms and spoke in a way that made him sound 'scholarly'.

    Word by Word: That scholar, intentionally technical terms lining up, scholar-like-made speaking way did.

    The use of 〜めかす implies the scholar is putting on an act or trying too hard to project a specific image.

  3. 彼女は秘密めかした態度で、小さな手紙を渡してきた。

    She handed me a small letter with a secretive air.

    Word by Word: She secret-like-made attitude with, small letter handing came.

    This describes an atmosphere of secrecy that was intentionally projected through her behavior.

  4. お洒落をして、めかして出かける。

    To dress up and go out all decked out.

    Word by Word: Fashion doing, adorning-self go out.

    In this idiomatic usage, 'mekasu' refers to the act of dressing oneself up or adorning oneself to look fancy.

Common Mistakes

  • Using 〜めかす for natural phenomena.

    風が春めかしてきた。
    風が春めいてきた。

    For natural, spontaneous changes like the weather becoming 'spring-like,' you must use the intransitive 〜めく. Using 〜めかす would imply someone is intentionally making the wind feel like spring.

  • Treating it as a highly productive suffix for all adjectives.

    美しめかす
    美しく見せる

    In modern Japanese, 〜めかす primarily attaches to nouns. It does not attach to い-adjectives or な-adjectives productively. For adjectives, you should use other expressions like 〜くする or 〜ぶる.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

〜めかすLevel 5Make Look Like

Learn This First

〜めかす is a suffix used to indicate that something is being made to look like or deliberately given the appearance of a certain quality. To understand it, you must first be familiar with its intransitive counterpart 〜めく (to have the air of) and the causative verb form (使役), as 〜めかす functions as the transitive version that implies intentionality or 'making' an appearance happen.

Words in This Pattern