思しい & 思わしい
In this lesson, we will look at two etymologically identical words which share the meaning of “to appear to be,” which you will, by and large, encounter in limited capacity in the written language: 思しい and 思わしい.
The shared root for the verbs 思う (to think) and 覚える (to think/regard) from an etymological standpoint is /ombo-/, with older stages of Japanese possessing a phoneme closer to /mb/, which explains why so many words today have free variation between /m/ and /b/.
Likewise, the adjectival forms 思しい1 and 思わしい are, thus, etymologically related. Interestingly enough, several other verbs pertaining to “thought” may have /-shii/ affixed to them to become adjectives—願わしい (desirable), 望ましい (hoped for), 悩ましい (troubling/enchanting), etc.
This lesson will be about the words 思しい and 思わしい. These two words both translate as “to appear to be.” They are largely used in literature while only seldom used in conversation, and they are arguably etymologically the same word.
【思・覚】しい
Deriving from おぼほし＞おぼし, おぼしい possesses two meanings:
- Either in the 連体形 as ～とおぼしき or in the 終止形 with no conjugational alteration as ～とおぼしい (which is far less common), おぼしい serves as a literary alternative for ～と思われる・～のようにみえる with a peculiar layer of nuancing leaning toward “suspicion.”
- “Equivalent to “to be viewed as satisfactory” or even “hoping for,” this meaning has largely been taken over by 思わしい.
Aside from fossilized expressions such as 思しきこと (what one is desiring/hoping for), only the first meaning of おぼしい is productive in Modern Japanese. Even still, ～とおぼしき・おぼしい is becoming more and more restricted.
～とおぼしき
As stated, the form おぼしい has more or less lost its conjugating capacity in modern speech, so much so that even its 終止形 is becoming obsolete. On rare occasion, you may see its 連用形 employed in the sense of “seemingly,” but even these instances can be phrased out in favor of おぼしき.
Aside from the literary flare it provides, ～とおぼしき creates a rather dubious impression of the referent, on the lines of “hmm…, that person looks awfully like…” The whole outlook on the referent makes it appear that they are what one takes them to be. Because of this, it is not always natural to use it when the “state of appearing so” is brief (Ex. 2).
1. 犯人と思しき人物を見失う。
To lose sight of a person thought to be a criminal.
2. 一見、画家と｛思しき △・X・思われそうな ◎｝人
A person with the looks of an artist at first glance
3. 私の町でも、英語指導助手と思しき人たちを見かける。
I also come across people in my town who appear to be assistant English teachers.
4. おととい浅草へ行ったら、団体旅行の外国人と思しき人たちが大勢歩いていた。
Two days ago when I went to Asakusa, there were a lot of people walking around who looked to be foreigners in a group vacation.
5. この町では外国人と思しき人を見かけません。
I don’t come across foreign-looking individuals in this town.
6. 逃走中と思しき女性
A woman who appears to be on the run
7. 危険物と思しき物を見たら、すぐに警察に知らせてください。
If you find something that appears to be a hazardous material, immediately contact the police.
8. 最近、景気が悪くて、外国人労働者と思しき人が多くなった。
The economic has been bad recently, and the number of people who appear to be foreign workers has increased.
9. この手紙には暗号と思しき文字が書かれている。
There is lettering in this letter that appears to be coded.
10 絶滅危惧種思しき動物もちらほら見かける。
I even glimpse animals that appear to be endangered species here and there.
11. 脊索動物と思しき化石
Fossils which resemble chordates
12. 人類の祖先と思しき生物が地球上に登場したのは2000万前といわれている。
It’s said that creatures resembling the ancestors of mankind appeared on the earth 20 million years ago.
13a. 寝起きと思しく乱れた髪 （△）
13b. 寝起きと思しき乱れた髪
Missed up hair from presumably having just woken up
14. 犯人と｛思しい 〇・思しき ◎｝人相の人
A person with the looks of a criminal
From the 『広辞苑・第5版』
15. 観光客と｛思しい 〇・思しき ◎｝人たちが結構乗っています。
There are quite a few people riding who appear to be tourists.
思わしい
The form おもわしい, meanwhile, shows the opposite trend, while possessing the same two meanings, their rates of use are flipped.
- Primarily used in the negative as 思わしくない to demonstrate that something is “undesirable/unsatisfactory.”
- “To appear to have some quality,” much like おぼしい; however, this usage is almost entirely out of use.
16. オリンピックの成績が思わしくなかった。
Their results at the Olympics were unsatisfactory.
17. やはり手首の状態が思わしくなかったですね。
My wrist wasn’t so good, like I figured.
18. 近頃体調があまり思わしくない気がしてきた。
I feel like my health hasn’t been all too good as of recently.
Attempts of using the second meaning of 思わしい in modern speech will result in it being replaced with some other alternative, namely ～とおぼしき or ～と思われる
19a. 線路と車輪から出ると思わしい音 ??
19b. 線路と車輪の間から出ていると思われる音
19c. 線路と車輪の擦れる音
A sound resembling what comes from between the tracks and the car wheels (of a train)
20. 人類の祖先と｛思しき ◎・思わしき △｝化石がアフリカの各地で次々と発見されている。
Fossils of human species thought to be those of man’s ancestors are continuously being found all across Africa.
- The exact verb form to which /-shii/ attaches for 思しい is 思す, an honorific form equivalent to お思いになる. It, itself, is a contraction of 思ほす, which itself was contracted from 思はす, indicating that a contraction of the syllable /mo/ and the verb’s 未然形 can also explain the variation within the 思う word clade. ↩︎