Japanese by Example
Learning through examples in manga

Thinking your clothes were baggier with 〜気がする

Manga panel from からかい上手の高木さん showing example of Thinking your clothes were baggier with 〜気がする.
からかい上手の高木さん » Volume 3 » Page 40

Takagi joins Nishikata as they head to school. They talk about having switched to their winter uniforms as the days are getting colder. Takagi asks Nishikata if he’s gotten taller.

西片(にしかた):
「え?」
“Huh?”
高木(たかぎ):
「春はもっとブカブカだった気がするなー。」
I think your clothes were more baggy back in spring.”

Key Points

  1. ()がする = “I feel like” (not 100% certain)
    • Here, ブカブカだった()がする is Takagi’s impression that his clothes used to fit looser
    • It softens the claim: she’s not stating a hard fact, more like “It seems…”
  2. What’s implied: “your clothes” and the subject marker
    • The line doesn’t explicitly say “your clothes”; it’s understood from context
    • One natural reconstruction: (はる)は(西片(にしかた)(ふく)が)もっとブカブカだった()がするなー
  3. (はる)はもっと…だった = “Back in spring, (they) were even more …”
    • (はる) sets the time/topic: “as for spring / back in spring”
    • もっと means “more / even more” (implying a comparison to now)
    • だった makes it past: “were”
  4. ブカブカ = “baggy / too loose” (fit/size nuance)
    • ブカブカ describes clothing that’s noticeably loose (often “too big for you”)
    • In this scene, it hints he may have grown since spring (the clothes don’t look as loose now)
  5. Ending nuance: なー = casual “hmm / you know…” musing
    • なー adds a light, reflective tone (“…I think”) rather than a sharp assertion