MEKKI-RI めっきり
Meanings
A sudden change and the degree of change is conspicuously large.
Examples
・I thought it was summer until the other day, but it has become very cold.
この前まで夏だと思っていたのに、めっきり寒くなった。
・My father, who had been in good health, has gray hair and has aged drastically.
壮健だった父も、白髪が増え、めっきり老けてしまった。
Dogmatic Opinion
Since it is “change,” it is predicated on the thought, “now compared to before.”
Besides the degree of change and the speed of change, the degree of change is also high.
Longer daylight → Shorter daylight
High temperatures → low temperatures, colder temperatures
Healthy → Weakness in legs and hips, etc.
There is a common image of a change to a more negative state than before.
This may be because the sound of “Mekkiri” reminds one of the Chinese characters for “perish” and “cut”.
When I think of the fact that “Meki Meki” is used only in a positive sense, I am surprised at the delicacy of the Japanese language.
