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Re: [Lingo] 涼しげ



The other Dave said:

涼しいis the base meaning cool
げ is a particle meaning looks like, looking
な is added for the following noun connectivity (if a verb followed in would be a に)

And Stephen said:
> I have a feeling the "ge" comes from 気, so it would actually be
> "spirit" or "essence".  Then 涼しげな潮風 would be refreshing because
> it cools the spirit or because it contains the essence of being cool.

Thanks! I hadn't even considered looking at the word as a conjugation for some reason.

When I looked up げ on wwwjdic, it says:
    気 【げ】 (suf) (uk) seeming; giving the appearance of;
       giving one the feeling of

I also found discussion of げ here: http://jgram.org/pages/viewOne.php?tagE=ge. They state "When using this grammar with an adjective or verb, you can only use those that express emotions or feelings of the heart. For example, うれしげ、悲しげ、楽しげ、不安げ、自信ありげ." Which would explain why the use isn't more common.

Also, in following a thread on a discussion of the use of そう vs. げ that your info took me to, I stumbled on a book titled
Communicating With Ki: The "Spirit" in Japanese Idioms
(http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/4770018339)
that was highly recommended.

Thanks
Steve S.







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