Japanese with Manga

Wanting an alluring older woman with 〜っぽい

Grammar Explanation: Kind of like with 〜っぽい

Sein shouts with his eyes squeezed shut and his mouth wide open.
葬送のフリーレン » Volume 4 » Page 62

While the party walks through the hills of the northern lands, Sein says the party is missing something and asks the others what it is. Fern suggests a thief, since Frieren keeps falling for mimics, but Sein says what they lack is far more important.

ザイン:
「年上(としうえ)のお姉(ねえ)さんだよ！！」
“An older woman, that's what!!”
「普通(ふつう)はパーティーに一人(ひとり)くらいはいるだろう！！」
“Normally every party's got at least one!!”
「色(いろ)っぽい大人(おとな)のお姉(ねえ)さんがさぁ！！」
“A sexy grown-up woman, y'know!!”
フリーレン:
「そうかなぁ…」
“I wonder about that...”

Key Points

1色(いろ)っぽい, “sexy” or “alluring”
  • 色(いろ) usually means “color”, but it can also mean romance or sex appeal. 色(いろ)っぽい is “sexy” or “alluring”. It’s mostly said of women.
  • It’s a fixed word, not “colorful” or “kind of like a color”. For a color tint, Japanese uses a color name plus っぽい, as in 青(あお)っぽい, “bluish”.
  • Like any い-adjective, it goes straight before the noun: 色(いろ)っぽい大人(おとな)のお姉(ねえ)さん.
2お姉(ねえ)さん, an older young woman
  • お姉(ねえ)さん is “older sister”, but it’s also used for any young woman a little older than the speaker. Sein means an older-sister type, not a relative.
  • 年上(としうえ) is “older”, and 大人(おとな)の is “grown-up”. Sein stacks both on お姉(ねえ)さん so nobody misses his point.
3Shouting his case with だよ, だろう, and さぁ
  • だよ gives the answer to his own question with force: “it’s an older woman!”
  • だろう with a rising tone presses for agreement: “there’s normally at least one, right?” 一人(ひとり)くらいは is “at least one”.
  • The last line names who should be in the party. It’s the subject of いる, tacked on after the sentence has ended. さぁ, a stretched-out さ, gives it a whiny, pleading emphasis.
4Frieren’s doubt with かなぁ
  • そうかなぁ is “I wonder about that.” かな wonders aloud, and the stretched-out ぁ makes Frieren sound unconvinced.

Vocabulary

(Older)

年上(としうえ) describes someone older than another person. As a noun, it means an older person or senior.

(Big sister)

お姉(ねえ)さん is a polite word for one’s older sister. People also use it to address or refer to a young woman.

(Party)

パーティー is a party, a social gathering.

(One person)

一人(ひとり) means one person or being alone. It can function as a counter expression or describe doing something by oneself.

(About)

くらい after a number or amount means “about” or “around”. With は, as in 一人(ひとり)くらいは, it means “at least”. It is also pronounced ぐらい.

(To be)

いる is to exist or be somewhere, for people and animals. After a て-form verb, it shows an ongoing action or a continuing state.

(Sexy)

色(いろ)っぽい describes someone, usually a woman, who is sexy or alluring.

(Color)

色(いろ) is color. It can also mean a look or expression, as in a face’s color, or romance and sex appeal.

(-ish)

っぽい follows a word to say something seems like it or tends toward it.

(So)

そう means “like that” or “that way”. Said alone, it agrees: “right”. After a verb stem or adjective, it means something looks or seems a certain way.

See Also

葬送のフリーレン © its respective creators. It is used here for educational commentary.