Meanings
1. Describes a face whose features or expression have little definition, depth, or contrast, giving it a flat and somewhat characterless appearance.
2. Describes a surface, landscape, or design as flat and lacking variation or relief.
Examples
Compared with Italians, Japanese people tend to have flatter, less strongly defined facial features.
日本人はイタリア人に比べるとのっぺりした顔をしている。
Dogmatic Opinion
The first thing I think of is a NOPPE-RI face.
The image is flat, with little relief—but not literally perfectly flat. Some protrusion remains.
For some reason I also imagine whiteness. This is not praise.
The overall impression is like an endless stretch of badly applied paint: little contrast, some unevenness, and not much to keep the eye interested.
It also does not feel completely dry to me. Somehow the sound suggests a trace of moisture or viscosity.
All of that is subjective, of course, but NOPPE-RI is much more than geometrical flatness in my mind. It includes blandness and lack of definition.
Related Words
For Japanese Learners
Flat, featureless, blank, lacking definition, and lacking relief may fit. For faces, “flat-featured” can sound harsh in English, just as NOPPE-RI itself is not complimentary. For landscapes or designs, flat, monotonous, or lacking contrast may be better depending on context.
