modality N3 common writtenpolite

〜とみえる — it seems that ~ (judging from evidence)

〜とみえる・とみえる

Meaning

it seems that ~ / apparently ~ — the speaker infers a conclusion from visible evidence

Always grounded in observed evidence the speaker reasons from — the wet road, the dark window. It has a slightly literary, narrative feel; in everyday speech ようだ / らしい are more common.

Key sentence

明あかりが消きえている。もう寝ねたとみえる。

The lights are off — it seems he's already gone to bed.

Formation

Attaches to	Form	Example
Plain-form clause + とみえる (also 〜と見えて mid-sentence)	[clause] + とみえる / とみえて	留守るすだとみえる / 疲つかれているとみえて

Examples

道みちが濡ぬれている。夜中よなかに雨あめが降ふったとみえる。

The road is wet — it seems it rained during the night.

彼女かのじょは事情じじょうを知しっているとみえて、何なにも驚おどろかなかった。

She seemed to know what was going on, as she wasn't at all surprised.

Easily confused with

ようだようだ is the everyday 'it seems', based on any impression including feeling; とみえる specifically reasons from concrete external evidence and sounds more bookish. らしいらしい leans on hearsay or secondhand information ('I gather ~'); とみえる draws the conclusion from what the speaker directly observes.

See 〜とみえる in real sentences

Jengo shows 〜とみえる the way you actually meet it: inside real Japanese sentences, so it sticks instead of staying an abstract rule.

Study it in Jengo

Sources Compiled from published Japanese grammar references.

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