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Kanji Detail for 柔 - "soft, judo"

  • Meaning

    柔 means "soft, judo." Also associated with to soften.

    1. Soft - Gentle; supple; mild; calm.

    2. To soften - To make gentle; to make calm.

    3. Judo - Referring to jujutsu or judo.

  • Words using

    • 柔軟 じゅうなん Listen flexible; lithe; soft
    • 柔道 じゅうどう Listen judo
    • 柔らかい やわらかい Listen soft; tender; supple
    • 柔らか やわらか Listen soft; tender; pliant
  • Four-character idioms with

    • 優柔不断 ゆうじゅうふだん Listen indecisive; irresolute; shilly-shally
    • 内剛外柔 ないごうがいじゅう Listen gentle on the outside but tough on the inside; an iron hand in a velvet glove
    • 内柔外剛 ないじゅうがいごう Listen tough on the outside but soft at heart
    • 外剛内柔 がいごうないじゅう Listen being tough on the outside but soft at heart; a faint-hearted person pretending to be brave
    • 外柔内剛 がいじゅうないごう Listen gentle but firm
  • Tattoo check:

    • Verified meaning: soft, judo
    • Official Jōyō kanji — a standard character every Japanese reader recognises
    • Used in real Japanese given names (read そうかわ, そうせき, のりお, むねお)
    • Also carries these associations: to soften

    A single kanji rarely maps one-to-one onto an English word. Read the meanings and associations above as a set — a character that fits the dictionary definition can still carry a connotation you did not intend.

  • Name readings of

    Given names (やわら)Listen

    Surnames (そうかわ)Listen (そうせき)Listen (のりお)Listen (むねお)Listen (むねかわ)Listen (むねきよ)Listen (むねまさ)Listen

  • Dictionary Citations

    The meaning above is based on the following sources:

    KANJIDIC2 A comprehensive Japanese-English kanji dictionary

    tender; weakness; gentleness; softness

    Unihan Unicode Han Database for CJK characters

    soft; gentle, pliant

    CC-CEDICT A Chinese-English dictionary

    soft; flexible; supple; yielding; rho (Greek letter Ρρ)

    Make Me a Hanzi Open-source Chinese character data

    soft, supple; gentle; flexible

    XSZD Xuéshēng Zìdiǎn (學生字典) - Student's Dictionary

    The opposite of hard. Soft, gentle. Such as 柔軟 (soft), 柔順 (yielding). | To submit, to pacify. Such as 柔遠能邇 means to make distant people submit.
  • Onyomi

    tip
  • Kunyomi

    tip
  • Strokes

    tip
  • Radical

    tip
  • Related Keywords

Sentences including

  • Don't be too hard on me please.

Sentences from Japanese classical masterpieces

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