見みせ掛かけ

み

せ

か

け

Common wordJLPTN1Freq.FrequencyTop 10,000

Meanings

1

noun, noun which may take the genitive case particle 'no'

pretense; sham; outward appearance

Refers to something that is made to look real or genuine but is not; often used in phrases like 見せ掛けだけ (just for show) or 見せ掛けの～ (a fake/pretend ~).

彼かれの親しん切せつは見みせ掛かけに過すぎない。
His kindness is nothing but a pretense.

それ

は

見み

せ

掛か

け

だけ

の

強つよ

さ

だ

。

That strength is just for show.

Written forms

見みせ掛かけUsage6%
Standard kanji spelling; the 掛け part is often written in kana as かけ.
見みせかけUsage93%
Common variant with かけ in kana; slightly more casual or modern.
みせかけUsage1%

Kanji

見see, hopes, chances
掛hang, suspend, depend

Similar words

偽にせ物もの
偽物 is a concrete fake or counterfeit object, while 見せ掛け emphasizes the deceptive outward appearance or pretense, which can be abstract.
ふり
ふり is a suffix meaning 'pretending to', attached to verbs (e.g., 知らないふり), whereas 見せ掛け is a noun/adjective describing the false appearance itself.

Etymology

Compound of 見せ (continuative form of 見せる 'to show') + 掛け (continuative form of 掛ける 'to put on, to hang'), literally 'putting on a show'. The meaning of outward pretense developed naturally from the idea of displaying something that is not genuine.