しなやか

し

な

や

か

Common wordJLPTN1Freq.FrequencyTop 50,000

Meanings

Describes physical flexibility and resilience, such as a supple body, flexible material, or elastic movement.

Extends the idea of suppleness to abstract qualities: graceful bearing, elegant style, or refined manner.

しなやかな〈体からだ〉a supple, flexible body
彼かの女じょはしなやかな体からだを持もつバレリーナだ。
She is a ballerina with a supple body.
しなやかな身みのこなしgraceful, agile movement or bearing
彼かれはしなやかな身みのこなしで舞ぶ台たいを歩あるいた。
He moved across the stage with graceful, agile bearing.
〈物もの〉がしなやかに曲まがるsomething bends supplely without breaking
竹たけの枝えだがしなやかに曲まがった。
The bamboo branch bent supplely.
しなやかな〈心こころ〉a flexible, resilient mind or spirit
困こん難なんに負まけないしなやかな心こころを持もちたい。
I want to have a resilient, flexible mind that won't be defeated by hardship.

柔じゅう軟なんN1sense 1
柔軟 is a more technical term for flexibility, used for materials, policies, or thinking, while しなやか carries a softer, more graceful connotation, especially of the body.
柔やわらかいN4sense 1
柔らかい is a general i-adjective for softness of texture, while しなやか emphasizes supple, resilient flexibility, as in a body or branch that bends without breaking.
優ゆう雅がN1sense 2
優雅 conveys formal elegance and refinement, whereas しなやか focuses on graceful physical flexibility and movement as well as elegance.
柔やわらかN1
しなやか stresses graceful, springy pliability (like a branch or body), whereas 柔らか is the broader, plainer word for softness.

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軽かろやか
しなやか emphasizes suppleness and flexibility of movement, while 軽やか emphasizes lightness and airiness rather than bendiness.
しんなりN1
しなやか is an adjective describing inherent flexibility or suppleness (like a dancer's body), while しんなり is a mimetic adverb usually describing a state something has come to be in, such as wilted vegetables.

硬かたいN4sense 1
硬い describes something stiff or rigid, the direct opposite of しなやか's supple flexibility.

華きゃ奢しゃ
華奢 describes a delicate, slender build that can seem fragile, whereas しなやか emphasizes resilient flexibility and grace rather than delicacy.

The origin is uncertain; it is a native Japanese word with a mimetic feel, possibly related to the root しな- (bending, pliancy).