Receiving a watching with 〜れる

Grammar Explanation: Receptive verbs with 〜れる

After Chino shows Cocoa to the changing room, Chino goes to get Cocoa’s uniform. Left alone, Cocoa gets a feeling otherwise.

ココア:: 「あれ…　誰(だれ)もいないはずなのに誰(だれ)かに見(み)られているような」; “Huh? Even though nobody should be here, it feels like I'm being watched by someone.”

Key Points

見(み)られている means Cocoa is being watched
- 見(み)る becomes 見(み)られる in the receptive, so Cocoa is not doing the watching. She is receiving someone else’s gaze.
- 〜ている makes the watching feel ongoing in this moment.
誰(だれ)かに marks the watcher
- In a receptive sentence, に can mark the person doing the action the subject receives.
- 誰(だれ)かに見(み)られている means “being watched by someone”, with the watcher left unknown.
誰(だれ)もいないはずなのに sets up the contradiction
- 誰(だれ)もいない means “nobody is here”; はず adds Cocoa’s expectation that this should be true.
- なのに turns that expectation into a contrast: nobody should be here, and yet she feels watched.
ような leaves the feeling unfinished
- The final ような trails off after “like…” or “as if…”, leaving the full thought implied.
- Cocoa is describing an uneasy impression rather than stating with certainty that someone is there.