やわらか

Japanese

Alternative spellings
柔らか軟らか

Etymology

柔(やわ)ら (yawara, “something fragile, soft, or supple; something calm or gentle”) + か (-ka, unproductive suffix^[1] forming 形容動詞 (keiyō dōshi, “-na adjectives”) from stems, indicating the state or feeling of an object)

Pronunciation

(Tokyo) やわらか [yàwáráꜜkà] (Nakadaka – [3])^[2]^[3]^[4]
(Tokyo) やわらか [yàwárákáꜜ] (Odaka – [4])^[2]^[4]
(Tokyo) やわらか [yàwáꜜràkà] (Nakadaka – [2])^[3]^[4]
IPA^(key): [ja̠β̞a̠ɾa̠ka̠]

Adjective

やわらか • (yawaraka) ^{←やはらか (yafaraka)^?}-na (adnominal やわらかな (yawaraka na), adverbial やわらかに (yawaraka ni))

soft
やわらかな手(て)
yawaraka na te
soft hand
gentle
やわらかな光(ひかり)
yawaraka na hikari
gentle light

Inflection

Inflection of **やわらか**
Stem forms
Imperfective (未然形)	やわらかだろ	yawaraka daro
Continuative (連用形)	やわらかで	yawaraka de
Terminal (終止形)	やわらかだ	yawaraka da
Attributive (連体形)	やわらかな	yawaraka na
Hypothetical (仮定形)	やわらかなら	yawaraka nara
Imperative (命令形)	やわらかであれ	yawaraka de are
Key constructions
Informal negative	やわらかではないやわらかじゃない	yawaraka de wa nai yawaraka ja nai
Informal past	やわらかだった	yawaraka datta
Informal negative past	やわらかではなかったやわらかじゃなかった	yawaraka de wa nakatta yawaraka ja nakatta
Formal	やわらかです	yawaraka desu
Formal negative	やわらかではありませんやわらかじゃありません	yawaraka de wa arimasen yawaraka ja arimasen
Formal past	やわらかでした	yawaraka deshita
Formal negative past	やわらかではありませんでしたやわらかじゃありませんでした	yawaraka de wa arimasen deshita yawaraka ja arimasen deshita
Conjunctive	やわらかで	yawaraka de
Conditional	やわらかなら（ば）	yawaraka nara (ba)
Provisional	やわらかだったら	yawaraka dattara
Volitional	やわらかだろう	yawaraka darō
Adverbial	やわらかに	yawaraka ni
Degree	やわらかさ	yawarakasa

Derived terms

柔(やわ)らかい (yawarakai)

References

^ Shōgaku Tosho (1988), 国語大辞典（新装版） [Unabridged Dictionary of Japanese (Revised Edition)] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN
↑ ^2.0 ^2.1 Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN
↑ ^3.0 ^3.1 NHK Broadcasting Culture Research Institute, editor (1998), NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 [NHK Japanese Pronunciation Accent Dictionary] (in Japanese), Tokyo: NHK Publishing, Inc., →ISBN
↑ ^4.0 ^4.1 ^4.2 Kindaichi, Kyōsuke et al., editors (1997), 新明解国語辞典 [Shin Meikai Kokugo Jiten] (in Japanese), Fifth edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN

[1] Shōgaku Tosho (1988), 国語大辞典（新装版） [Unabridged Dictionary of Japanese (Revised Edition)] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN

[DJR-2] 2.0 ^2.1 Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN

[NHK-3] 3.0 ^3.1 NHK Broadcasting Culture Research Institute, editor (1998), NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 [NHK Japanese Pronunciation Accent Dictionary] (in Japanese), Tokyo: NHK Publishing, Inc., →ISBN

[SMK5-4] 4.0 ^4.1 ^4.2 Kindaichi, Kyōsuke et al., editors (1997), 新明解国語辞典 [Shin Meikai Kokugo Jiten] (in Japanese), Fifth edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN

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[2]

[3]

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