〜とみえる (~to mieru) — it appears that (judging from evidence)
A conclusion drawn from what you see of someone else — a more literary らしい.
Formula (सूत्र ढाँचा)
Grammar rule (व्याकरण नियम र परिभाषा)
When to use it
- You ring the neighbour's bell several times and nobody comes — 「留守とみえて、返事がない」(they seem to be out; there is no answer).
- It has the flavour of a newspaper, a novel, or careful speech.
Meaning
- 「〜とみえる」= you look at someone else's state with your own eyes, take that as evidence, and conclude 'ah, so it seems to be like this'.
- In the example above, the evidence for 'they are out' is the silence.
How to attach
- Plain form + とみえる: 忙しいとみえる・食べたとみえる
- な-adjectives and nouns keep 「だ」: 暇だとみえる・留守だとみえる
- Mid-sentence it becomes 「〜とみえて、…」and the evidence follows: 「欲しい物はなかったとみえて、客は何も買わずに出ていった」
Versus what you know
- N4It is a more literary cousin of 「〜らしい」「〜ようだ」(田中さんは忙しいらしい).
- 「らしい」can also carry things you heard; 「とみえる」is always a conclusion drawn from a sign you saw.
Watch out
- It is normally said about someone else (third person) — you do not say 「私は疲れたとみえる」about yourself.
- The person doing the guessing (me) does not appear in the sentence.
Examples (उदाहरणहरू)
店長は今日とても忙しいとみえて、一度も休憩に来なかった。
てんちょうはきょうとてもいそがしいとみえて、いちどもきゅうけいにこなかった。
The manager seems to be really busy today; they didn't come for a break even once.
How it is built (कसरी बन्यो) 忙しい = busy (い-adj, as it is) → we attach 「とみえて」 = the manager seems to be busy → then the evidence for that guess: he didn't come for a break.
隣の人は留守だとみえて、何度チャイムを鳴らしても返事がない。
となりのひとはるすだとみえて、なんどチャイムをならしてもへんじがない。
The neighbor seems to be out; no matter how many times I ring the bell, there's no answer.
How it is built (कसरी बन्यो) 留守 = being out (N) → we add 「だ」: 留守だ → 「とみえて」 → then the evidence: I ring the bell but there's no answer.
田中さんは朝からずっと眠そうだ。昨日遅くまで残業したとみえる。
たなかさんはあさからずっとねむそうだ。きのうおそくまでざんぎょうしたとみえる。
Tanaka-san has looked sleepy all morning. It appears they worked overtime until late last night.
How it is built (कसरी बन्यो) First, the sign we saw: Tanaka-san looks sleepy → 残業した = worked overtime (Vた) → we attach 「とみえる」 = it seems they did → at the end of the sentence, 「とみえる」 itself closes it.
Knowledge check (मिनी ज्ञान जाँच)
「息子は試験が難しかった＿みえて、元気がない。」— fill the blank.
💡 Hint: Which particle follows the plain form?
Plain form + とみえて. 難しかったとみえて = it seems it was hard, (so) he is down.
In which sentence is 「とみえる」unnatural?
💡 Hint: Whose state are you observing?
とみえる is an inference from watching someone else; you do not say 「私は〜とみえる」about yourself.
Which is closest in meaning to 「留守とみえる」?
💡 Hint: From a sign you saw.
とみえる = 'seems so' from a sign you saw — the literary らしい／ようだ; not hearsay (そうだ).
Your score: /3