Jeffrey
How do you say "appearance" (looks) Appearance/looks という日本語でなんだろう? How do I ask "what does he look like?" Is this correct? この人の体裁はどう? この人の目ためはなに?
Oct 25, 2019 5:15 PM
Answers · 4
1
What dose he look like? What is he like? 彼はどんな人ですか? 実はこの英語は日本語に訳しにくいです。日本語は、見た目(外見-がいけん(Appearance/looks) と性格(personality)を同時に聞くことが多いからです。 見た目だけを聞きたいならば、「見た目はどんな人ですか」と言います。 性格だけを聞きたいならば、「どんな感じの人ですか」と言います。 I think your question is very interesting. Actually these English expression, "What does he look like?" and "What is he like?" are often combined in Japanese, saying "彼はどんな人ですか" that asks about his appearance and character. If you specifically want to ask about his looking, you can say, " 見た目はどんな人ですか” or "見かけはどんな感じですか”、but still, you might get response like " Well, he is tall and thin and he looks like a nice person." (背が高い、やせている。優しい人のようだ) Interestingly, if it's in a crime scene, a detective asks "What does the man look like?"(どんな男だ?) a witness would answer, "He has brown hair and blue eyes, tall and big)"(茶色い髪で目は青い。背が高く大きい)Answering about the personality is not needed in the case, I think. Just mind this point, "what" of "what does he look like" should be translated どんな, not "なに”. If you have any questions, I will be happy to help you. Just text me, please.
October 29, 2019
Appearance/looks=見た目、身なり、外見 "what does he look like?" Alternative phrase 「彼はどう見えますか」 「彼の見た目はどうですか」 「彼の身なりはなんだろう」(侮蔑的な言い方(display contempt))
October 25, 2019
That's correct 😁. Well done.
October 25, 2019
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