Understanding 「鈴木さんは見た目より若く見えますね。」


The sentence

> 鈴木さんは見た目より若く見えますね。

apparently translates to

> Mr. Suzuki's not as old as he looks.

However, if we break this sentence down a bit:

  * **見た目:** appearance
  * **若く見えます:** appears-youngly (or more idiomatically: "seems young")

...it seems to me this sentence is literally comparing an _appearance_ with an
_appearance_. Something like:

> As for Suzuki, he _appears younger_ than his appearance.

But what we actually want to do is compare an _appearance_ with an _age_ ,
right? Something like:

> As for Suzuki, he _is_ younger than his appearance.

**Question:** Can "若く見えます" mean "is young", in addition to just "seems/appears
young"? If not, how to make sense of this sentence?




As you said, 見た目より若く見えます is somewhat nonsensical because it suggests that
someone looks old and young at the same time.(*) I feel like it at least needs
some qualifications, like "his _physical features_ may look old when taken
individually but his _overall impression_ is not that of a typical old man".
(This is just a made up example, other qualifications are possible.) Perhaps
the writer might assume the reader knows the unsaid qualifications so they
don't see the need to clarify, though.

* [｢見た目より若く見える｣ - これって日本語がおかしい、というか矛盾してますよね？](https://detail.chiebukuro.yahoo.co.jp/qa/question_detail/q12205369297)




As you said, 見た目より若く見えます is somewhat nonsensical because it suggests that
someone looks old and young at the same time.(*) I feel like it at least needs
some qualifications, like "his _physical features_ may look old when taken
individually but his _overall impression_ is not that of a typical old man".
(This is just a made up example, other qualifications are possible.) Perhaps
the writer might assume the reader knows the unsaid qualifications so they
don't see the need to clarify, though.

* [｢見た目より若く見える｣ - これって日本語がおかしい、というか矛盾してますよね？](https://detail.chiebukuro.yahoo.co.jp/qa/question_detail/q12205369297)

