Usage patterns 婉えん 曲きょく な 〈 事こと 〉 a euphemistic/roundabout ~ (expression, way of speaking, etc.)
He avoided the topic with a euphemistic expression.
婉えん 曲きょく に 〈 動どう 詞し 〉 to do something (say, refuse, etc.) in an indirect, softened way
She turned down his invitation in a roundabout way.
Related words 遠回し is a more colloquial way to describe indirect speech, while 婉曲 is a more formal term that specifically implies softening a statement euphemistically.
間接的 describes indirectness in a general, neutral sense, whereas 婉曲 specifically implies deliberate softening or politeness in how something is said.
婉曲 is a formal, literary word for euphemistic or circumlocutory expression, while それとなく is the common, everyday adverb for doing something tactfully without stating it outright.
Opposites 率直 describes speaking frankly and directly, the opposite of 婉曲 's deliberately softened, indirect way of speaking.
婉曲 means indirect or euphemistic, the opposite of 露骨 's blunt, unconcealed directness.
Word family euphemism; periphrasis; circumlocution
euphemistic; indirect; roundabout
euphemism
euphemism; euphemistic expression
euphemism
euphemistic and circumlocutory
Written forms 婉えん 曲きょく Usage 97%
Standard kanji spelling; the word is almost always written in kanji.
えんきょく Usage 3%
Etymology From Chinese 婉曲 (wǎnqū), meaning mild and indirect. The kanji 婉 suggests gentleness or grace, and 曲 means bending or indirectness. The word entered Japanese as a Sino-Japanese compound.
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