Meaning
柔 means soft, gentle, flexible, and tender. Think of things that yield without breaking — a child's smooth skin, a kind person's quiet manner, fabric that drapes rather than holds its shape. Where 硬 (hard) resists, 柔 bends. That capacity to absorb and adapt rather than snap is what defines the character.
Two components form 柔: 矛 (ほこ, spear or halberd) sits above, and 木 (き, wood or tree) below. A weapon paired with a tree — an odd combination for a kanji meaning “soft.” The original concept points to a young sapling: green wood that bends like a spear shaft but doesn't snap. New growth is pliant by nature. It only stiffens with age.
Nine strokes. 柔 is a Joyo kanji taught at the middle-school level (中学校) — not covered in elementary school, but expected knowledge before graduation. It appears in academic writing, martial arts terminology, and everyday descriptive language. The radical is 木 (tree/wood), anchoring the character back to that image of living, bending wood.
Readings
On'yomi (音読み) — Chinese-derived readings
柔 has two on'yomi: ジュウ (jū) and ニュウ (nyū). They entered Japanese from Chinese at different periods and survive in distinct sets of compounds.
ジュウ (jū) is the more common reading, dominant in martial arts and concepts of adaptability:
柔道 (jūdō) — judo (literally “the gentle way”), the famous Japanese martial art
柔軟 (jūnan) — flexible, supple, pliable (physical or mental)
柔術 (jūjutsu) — jujutsu, the traditional unarmed martial art that judo evolved from ニュウ (nyū) appears mainly in older and literary compounds describing a gentle disposition:
柔和 (nyūwa) — gentle, mild, meek (describing a person's character or expression)
柔弱 (nyūjaku) — weak, lacking backbone (carries a slightly negative nuance)
Kun'yomi (訓読み) — Native Japanese readings
All kun'yomi forms branch from the root やわ (yawa), an old Japanese word for softness. Three forms are in active use:
やわらかい (yawarakai) — the standard adjective, heard daily:
- 柔らかいパン (yawarakai pan) — soft bread
- 柔らかい肌 (yawarakai hada) — soft skin
やわらか (yawaraka) — a な-adjective form, slightly more literary in tone:
- 柔らかな光 (yawaraka na hikari) — soft light
やわらげる (yawarageru) — verb meaning “to soften,” “to ease,” or “to moderate”:
- 痛みを柔らげる (itami wo yawarageru) — to ease the pain
Common Words & Compounds
Key compounds grouped by theme. The martial arts entries are exam staples at N2; the personality vocabulary turns up in formal and literary writing.
Martial Arts & Physical Discipline
- 柔道 (jūdō) — judo; literally “the way of gentleness,” a modern Japanese martial art
- 柔術 (jūjutsu) — jujutsu; traditional unarmed combat, the ancestor of judo
- 柔軟体操 (jūnan taisō) — stretching exercises, flexibility training
Physical Softness & Texture
- 柔らかい (yawarakai) — soft, tender, supple (adjective)
- 柔らか (yawaraka) — soft, gentle (nominal adjective)
- 柔毛 (jūmō) — soft hair, down, villi (biology)
Personality & Character
- 柔和 (nyūwa) — gentle, mild-mannered, meek
- 温柔 (onjū) — gentle and warm, tender-hearted
- 優柔不断 (yūjū fudan) — indecisive, wishy-washy, unable to commit
Abstract Flexibility
- 柔軟 (jūnan) — flexible, adaptable, pliable
- 柔軟性 (jūnansei) — flexibility, elasticity, adaptability
- 柔軟な発想 (jūnan na hassō) — flexible thinking, open-minded approach
Example Sentences
この布はとても柔らかいです。
Kono nuno wa totemo yawarakai desu.
This fabric is very soft.
赤ちゃんの肌は柔らかい。
Akachan no hada wa yawarakai.
A baby's skin is soft.
彼女は柔和な表情で微笑んだ。
Kanojo wa nyūwa na hyōjō de hohoemanda.
She smiled with a gentle expression.
彼は子供の頃から柔道を習っている。
Kare wa kodomo no koro kara jūdō wo naratte iru.
He has been learning judo since childhood.
音楽が心の痛みを柔らげてくれた。
Ongaku ga kokoro no itami wo yawaragete kureta.
Music eased the ache in my heart.
この問題には柔軟な考え方が必要だ。
Kono mondai ni wa jūnan na kangaekata ga hitsuyō da.
This problem calls for flexible thinking.
毎日ストレッチをして体の柔軟性を高めている。
Mainichi sutoretchi wo shite karada no jūnansei wo takamete iru.
I stretch every day to build up my flexibility.
彼は優柔不断で、なかなか決断できない。
Kare wa yūjū fudan de, nakanaka ketsudan dekinai.
He is indecisive and can rarely commit to a choice.
柔らかい光が窓から差し込んでいた。
Yawarakai hikari ga mado kara sashikonde ita.
Soft light was streaming through the window.
Memory Tip
Picture 矛 (a spear shaft) resting against 木 (a young tree). Wind hits — both bend without snapping. That image is 柔 in a nutshell.
For a sharper hook, recall 柔道 (judo): its founding principle is that a smaller person, by yielding rather than resisting, can throw a much larger opponent. The character encodes that philosophy directly. Soft wins. 柔 bends; 硬 breaks.