見える・みえる - Grammar Discussion

Grammar Points
#1

to be visible
to seem
to be in sight

Structure

  • Noun + が + 見える

:warning: 見える was originally a conjugation of 見る, but nowadays we treat it as a standalone intransitive verb. It is also used in honorific speech
meaning “to come.”

[見える is an intransitive verb, meaning “to be seen”]

[見える is used to express that something is seen spontaneously, without the active effort/will of the speaker - it is unavoidable to see it]

[In other words, it can express situations when something can be seen easily without focusing on it, or when it is so big that the speaker sees it regardless of his will, etc.]

[It can also express that sense of sight is functional or not]

The potential form of 見る - 見られる is used when some effort of the speaker is needed to use the ability to see]

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#2

Hi, in the example 東京タワーの みえる 部屋を予約したいのですが、why is が見える wrong? Just plugging it into google translate gives a similar but different meaning:

東京トワーの見える部屋を予約したいのですが：I’d like to reserve a room with a view of Tokyo Tower

東京トワーのが見える部屋を予約したいのですが：I would like to reserve a room where I can see Tokyo Tower

So does adding が impart the idea of . . . there being a person who sees the Tower, instead of just a room with the quality of the tower being visible?

thanks for your time

#4

東京タワーの見える部屋 and
東京タワーが見える部屋 have the same meaning, but the の is already there so we don’t get to choose.

Adding が changes the meaning of the の. The tower’s what, though?

Google does not understand grammar and especially not nuance.

#5

I am not sure I understand 子犬こいぬは生うまれた直後ちょくごは目めが みえない.

I’ve learned that the thing before the が of 見える is the thing that can be seen (or as here not be seen for 見えない). On that basis I would have translated this as something like “You cannot see puppies’ eyes just after they are born”.

But the translation given is “puppies cannot see”, which I would have thought was 見られない.

What am I misunderstanding?

#6

There is a note on the grammar point:

It can also express that sense of sight is functional or not

目が見える in particular, also with other words that refer to eyes, normally means that one can see.

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#7

I think it’s still bit a of a problem though. Or well, the order of the example/quiz sentences is. You’d kinda expect an “edge case” like this to follow later but right now it’s the very first example and the very first thing you’re quizzed on which is a bit unfortunate.

#8

@pasi Thank you for your comment. I have rearranged the order of the sentences and review questions so that this particular example only appears after you have been reviewing the grammar point for some time. Cheers!

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#9

Sorry to trouble you once again, this is not strictly related to the grammar point but I was wondering why is “ハッキリ” written in katakana? I googled the meaning of the word and most examples seem to use hiragana and I couldn’t really find a reason for the katana…

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#10

@pasi Hey! This post on Japanese StackExchange does an excellent job of answering your question. In this case, it is like making the text bold or italicizing text in English; it is used for emphasis. Cheers!