845 - と見えて（とみえて）
Nice, straightforward lesson here.
The verb 見える (みえる) means "to be visible" or "to be in sight," yeah?
But it also means "to look," "to seem," or "to appear."
And when you say と見えて (とみえて), it can mean something like "apparently," "it would seem that," "it seems," etc.
An example:
彼女は海にでも行ったと見えて、こんがり日焼けしている。
かのじょ は うみ に でも いった とみえて、 こんがり ひやけ している。
She has gotten very tan. Apparently, she went to the beach, or something.
Literally: “she + は + sea + に + でも + went + apparently / it seems (and), + well-cooked + suntan / sunburn + is doing.”
As you can see, the conjecture (the thing that the speaker is guessing [=she went to the beach, or something]) comes before と見えて, and the basis for that conjecture (=she has gotten tan) comes after it.
That is not necessarily always the case, however. In fact, we can put と見えて at the end of a sentence, also... but in that case we would not need to put it into て-form:
何も言ってこないということは、テストは不合格だったとみえる。
なにも いって こない ということは、 テスト は ふごうかく だった とみえる。
She’s not saying anything. I’m guessing that means she didn’t pass the test.
Literally: “nothing + say (and) + doesn't come + ということは, + test + は + failure / not passing (e.g. a test) + was (=だった) + apparently / it seems.”
If we wanted to use と見えて, specifically, then we might have phrased the above sentence like this:
テストは不合格だったとみえて、何も言ってこない。
テスト は ふごうかく だった とみえて、 なにも いって こない。
She’s not saying anything. I’m guessing that means she didn’t pass the test.
Literally: “test + は + failure / not passing (e.g. a test) + was (=だった) + apparently / it seems (and), nothing + say (and) + doesn't come.”
I suppose I also could have switched the order of the English sentences, putting something like, "I'm guessing that she didn't pass the test, since she's not saying anything." I didn't think this change was necessary, though.
👷 Construction 👷
(Since it starts with と) と見えて follows the same pattern that we saw for としても, in our last N3 lesson:
Put a word in plain form directly before と見えて.
If the word before と見えて is a NOUN or na-adjective, then the plain-form word will be a copula. In this lesson, we see だ and だった.
Let's look at another example:
詩穂さんはハイヒールに慣れていないとみえて、歩き方がぎこちない。
しほさん は ハイヒール に なれていない とみえて、 あるきかた が ぎこちない。
Shiho-san looks a bit awkward when she walks in heels. It would seem that she’s not used to wearing them.
Literally: “Shiho-san + は + high heels + に + is not used to + apparently / it seems (and), + way (she) walks + が + awkward / clumsy.”
Last one:
彼は美食家だと見えて、いつもおいしいレストランを教えてくれる。
かれ は びしょくか だ とみえて、 いつも おいしい レストラン を おしえて くれる。
He’s always telling me about delicious restaurants to try. Apparently, he’s a food connoisseur.
Literally: “he + は + epicure / gourmet + だ + apparently / it seems (and), + always + tasty / delicious + restaurant + を + teach / tell (and) + gives (me).”
Finished!