Translation guide
Describes someone or something that is thin in an attractive or graceful way. Japanese has several words for 'slender', each with different nuances, contexts, and typical collocations.
Describing a person's figure as slim, graceful, and attractive.
A loanword from English, commonly used for women's figures. It carries a modern, stylish nuance and is often used in fashion contexts.
She has a slender figure.
Describes a slim, delicate, and graceful body shape, often for women. It implies a pleasing thinness, not just being skinny.
slender fingers
She is slender.
Literally 'thin body', used for people or objects. For people, it often describes a lean, slender build, sometimes with a slightly more masculine or unisex nuance than ほっそり.
a slender man
He is slender and tall.
Another loanword, 'slim'. Often used in advertising and health contexts. It can imply a fit, trim body rather than just thinness.
I want to get a slender body.
Literally 'willow waist', a poetic term for a slender, supple waist, often used in classical literature or to describe a graceful feminine figure.
a slender-waisted beauty
Describing long, thin, and often graceful inanimate objects.
The most common word for 'long and thin'. It can describe anything from a slender neck to a narrow room. It doesn't necessarily imply attractiveness, just the shape.
Also used for objects, emphasizing a delicate, graceful thinness. Often used for fingers, necks, or tree branches.
Describes something long and straight, often with a sense of elegance. Commonly used for legs, bodies, or tall, thin objects.
Means 'supple' or 'flexible', but often implies a slender, graceful shape. Used for limbs, branches, or movements.
Describing a very small or narrow amount, such as a slim chance or a narrow victory.
Means 'faint' or 'slight', used for hopes, chances, or possibilities. It conveys a slender, barely perceptible amount.
a slender hope
Means 'a little' or 'slight', used for amounts, differences, or chances. It emphasizes the smallness of the quantity.
We won by a slender margin.
Literally 'paper-thin', used for very narrow differences or margins, often in dramatic contexts.
We lost by a slender margin.
ほっそり emphasizes a delicate, attractive thinness, often for women's bodies or graceful objects. 細長い simply describes something long and thin, without necessarily implying beauty. スレンダー is a modern loanword used mainly for women's figures in fashion or casual speech.
Direct translations like 細い (ほそい) can sound negative, implying 'skinny' or 'thin' in an unattractive way. Use ほっそり or スレンダー for a positive, attractive slimness.
ほっそりした首
a slender neck
slender legs
a slender, tall tree
しなやかな枝
slender, supple branches