めく・めいた - Grammar Discussion

Grammar Points
#1

like
to show signs of
to have the appearance of
to come to a (state) similar to
somewhat
an air of
feels almost like

Structure

  • Noun + めく
  • Noun1 + めいた + Noun2

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#2

Can anyone enlighten me as to why this takes this form? I can’t get my head round it…

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#3

I’ve got the same question wrong too (originally put めいた)

#4

I don’t have an answer as to why that is, but it seems you use めいてる・めいて来た・めいていた when it is the main verb (not a relative clause modifying a noun). Maybe to the native ear “to be showing signs of X” just sounds like a continuous process.

Some more examples from https://japanesetest4you.com/flashcard/learn-jlpt-n1-grammar-めく-meku/, めく – Vocabulary details – jpdb, and 【JLPT N1】「めく」 - 日本語教師のN1et

  • 冗談めいてるけど、本気でそう思ってるように聞こえる。
  • 簡単でむずかしいとは、なんだかすこし逆説めいているぜ。
  • 犯人は二歳以上十歳まで、大人しめ、無邪気ながら、どこか狂気めいていた。
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