Japanese with Manga

No humans around lately with 見かける

Vocabulary Explanation: Words ending in 掛ける

Wolf, a wolf girl in a hooded cape, sits in the grass of the forest and reaches toward a small bird.
ちいさな森のオオカミちゃん » Volume 1 » Page 49

Wolf, a wolf girl who looks after the little forest, is out on patrol with her bird companion. She stretches and remarks on the nice weather.

オオカミちゃん:
「パトロールは順調(じゅんちょう)だし」
“The patrol's going smoothly...”
「人間(にんげん)さんは最近(さいきん)見(み)かけないし」
“...and I haven't seen any humans around lately.”

Key Points

1見(み)かける, coming across someone
  • 見(み)かける means to see or come across someone, usually by chance while going about your day. It isn’t about looking for something on purpose.
  • 最近(さいきん)見(み)かけない is a common way to say “I haven’t seen them around lately.”
  • Don’t mix it up with the noun 見(み)かけ, “appearance”.
2Listing reasons with 〜し
  • し after each line lists reasons: the patrol is going well, and there are no humans around. Together they explain why she feels at ease.
3人間(にんげん)さん
  • Wolf adds さん to 人間(にんげん). From a forest creature, it sounds cute and a little polite, like “Mister Human”.
4は for contrast
  • パトロールは and 人間(にんげん)さんは each set up a topic for a short comment. With 人間(にんげん)さんは, the topic is also the object of 見(み)かけない, so it replaces を.

Vocabulary

(Patrol)

パトロール is a patrol, going around an area to check that everything is safe.

(Human being)

人間(にんげん) means a human being or humanity. It can also refer to someone’s character or personality.

(To come across)

見(み)かける is to catch sight of someone or something, usually by chance while going about your day. It differs from the noun 見(み)かけ, “appearance”.

See Also

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