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I'm somewhat confused about the usage and limitations of the　～め　suffix that means "somewhat/slightly". I've only ever heard it on a handful of words:

  • 大きめ
  • 小さ目
  • 多め
  • 少な目
  • 早め

and maybe a few others that I can't recall at present.

1) Can these be used with any イ-adjectives, or only certain ones?
2) Can they be used with ナ-adjectives at all? Can't say I've ever seen one.
3) What are the limitations of its usage? For the イ-adjectives, is ～めに interchangeable with ～く for forming the adverb?
4) などなど

istrasci
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1 Answers1

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  1. Yes. There seems to be no limitation on the combination of i-adjectives and 目.
  2. Yes. For example, 静かめの曲

  3. It is not interchangable. As you already wrote in the question, 目 weakens the attribute expressed by the adjective. Therefore, the adverbial usage ...目に will in general be a weakening of the adverbial usage of ...く.

    • 早く走った 'ran early'
    • 早めに走った 'ran somewhat early'

  4. ???