> 気がつけば、目の前にそれはいた。 シンはぞっと戦慄を覚える。 同じ顔だった。 遠縁だという青年の顔を、シンは知らないから自分の顔 **で見えた**
> のかもしれないし、本当にそれほど似ていたのかもしれない。フレデリカが何度も重ねてしまうほどに。
>
> 86─エイティシックス─Ep.3 ─ラン・スルー・ザ・バトルフロント─〈下〉

安里アサト

[![enter image description
here](https://i.stack.imgur.com/S7Rve.png)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/S7Rve.png)

Could you please explain the bold で? Given the meaning is that シン’s face looks
pretty like that of the 青年, shouldn’t we use に見えた here?
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question
grammar particles
Understanding noun+で見える
You are right in that に would be more normal. It is an idiosyncratic choice of
the author to use で, which means _by, with_ here.

に見えた would just mean _the face looked **like** his own_. で見えた gives a nuance
that _the visual impression given by the face **was replaced by his own**_ ,
i.e., シン was in the state of looking at a mirror when he saw the guy.

* * *

The closest (more common) usage of で would be "(の声) **で** 再生される". For example

  * 自分の世代は、「僕ドラえもん」は大山のぶ代で再生される。
  * For those of my generation, 僕ドラえもん is played with/by/in the voice of Nobuyo Ohyama

(Note: Oyama is the original voice actress of Doraemon, who was replaced quite
a while ago. The phrase is characteristic of Doraemon, just like オッスおら悟空 for
Goku of Dragonball.).

FYI: A related word (kind of internet slang) is
[脳内再生](https://dic.nicovideo.jp/a/%E8%84%B3%E5%86%85%E5%86%8D%E7%94%9F).
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answer