Soppo wo Muku (そっぽを向く – Looking Away)

Both

English

Japanese

To describe that someone looks away, refuses to see something, or becomes uncooperative, you can use the Japanese phrase ‘soppo wo muku‘ (そっぽを向く).

相手を見ずによその方を向くことや、協調しない態度をとることを「そっぽを向く」と言うことがあります。

‘Muku‘ (向く) is a common Japanese term that means “to look toward,” but ‘soppo‘ (そっぽ) is basically used only in this phrase.

「向く」は “to look toward” を意味する一般的な日本語ですが、「そっぽ」は基本的に「そっぽを向く」の表現の中でしか使われません。

Soppo is written as 外方 in kanji, and as these kanji characters imply, it means “another direction” or “outside direction.”

「そっぽ」は漢字で「外方」と書き、漢字が意味するとおり、外の方向 (“another direction” or “outside direction”) を意味します。

That is to say, the literal meaning of ‘soppo wo muku‘ is “to look toward another/outside direction.”

すなわち「そっぽを向く」は、”to look toward another/outside direction” という意味となります。