Explore what can be seen from a place and how something looks in polite Japanese.
The idea
見える is an ichidan verb expressing what is visible to an observer; the visible thing normally takes が, and から can mark the viewpoint. Noun のように見える means “looks like a noun”.
| Dictionary form | Polite non-past | Polite negative | Polite past | て form |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 見える | 見えます | 見えません | 見えました | 見えて |
Examples
- 窓から海が見えます。I can see the sea from the window.
- ここからは山が見えません。The mountain is not visible from here.
- 昨日の夜、星がよく見えました。The stars were clearly visible last night.
- 霧で前が見えませんでした。I could not see ahead because of the fog.
- 眼鏡をかけると、小さい字も見えます。When I put on my glasses, I can see even small print.
- あの雲は犬のように見えます。That cloud looks like a dog.
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Watch out
見える describes visibility, while 見る normally describes looking deliberately. 見られる, the potential of 見る, can also express the ability or opportunity to watch.
Try it yourself
＿。（見える→ます）
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見えます
見えます is the polite non-past form: remove る and add ます.
＿。（見える→て）
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見えて
見えて is the て form: replace る with て.
窓から海＿見えます。（が／を）
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が
が marks 海 as the thing visible from the window.
Practice round
Answer questions, then rebuild Japanese sentences where available. We keep your score.
＿。（見える→ます）
＿。（見える→て）
窓から海＿見えます。（が／を）
Tap the words in the right order.
Tap the words in the right order.
Tap the words in the right order.
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Describe what you can see from a window, then make the sentence negative.