This shows how someone or something looks. It describes an inner feeling you can see from the outside.
い-Adjective [stem] + げPrimary
な-Adjective + げ
Verb [stem] + たげ
This shows how someone or something looks. It describes an inner feeling you can see from the outside.
彼女は何か言いたげな表情で、こちらをじっと見ていた。
She was staring over here with an expression that looked like she wanted to say something.
老人は満足げに庭の桜を眺めていた。
The old man was gazing at the cherry blossoms in the garden, looking satisfied.
彼は退屈げな顔をしているが、本当は楽しんでいるのかもしれない。
He's making a bored-looking face, but he might actually be enjoying himself.
その子供は、親とはぐれたのか、不安げな様子だった。
The child looked anxious, perhaps because they had gotten separated from their parents.
彼の表情は、昨日までとは違い、少しも悲しげではなかった。
His expression, unlike until yesterday, didn't look sad at all.
This grammar point is like saying "-ish" or "-looking" in English. It shows how something appears on the outside. You use it with adjectives to describe what you see.
This is different from "~sou da." "~Sou da" is for many kinds of looks, like "looks delicious." This is also different from "~ppoi." "~Ppoi" means something is really like that. This is also different from "~you da" and "~mitai." Those use more clues, not just what you see.
Don't use this when you talk about your own feelings. For example, you cannot say "I look sad." This is for how others look. It works only with words about feelings or states. It does not work with words about color or size.
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