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Words Kanji Guides About

生き写し (いきうつし) Japanese meaning | Kotomora

生いき写うつし

い

き

う

つ

し

Freq.FrequencyTop 100,000

Meanings

1

noun

lifelike; exact resemblance; spitting image

Used to describe a person or thing that looks exactly like another, often in the phrase 生き写しのようだ.

彼かれは父ちち親おやの生いき写うつしだ。
He is the spitting image of his father.
その肖しょう像ぞう画がは本ほん人にんの生いき写うつしのように描えが

か

れ

て

いる

。

The portrait is painted so lifelike that it looks exactly like the person.

Written forms

生いき写うつしUsage97%
Standard kanji spelling.
いきうつしUsage3%

Kanji

生life, genuine, birth
写copy, be photographed, describe

Similar words

そっくり
そっくり is a more common and casual adverb/adjective meaning 'exactly alike', while 生き写し is a noun emphasizing a vivid, lifelike resemblance, often used for people.

Etymology

Compound of 生き (iki, 'living') and 写し (utsushi, 'copy'), literally 'living copy'. The exact historical derivation is uncertain, but the word has been used since at least the Edo period to describe a strikingly lifelike resemblance.