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ささやか (sasayaka) Japanese meaning: small | Kotomora
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ささやか な 贈おく り 物もの です が 、 どうぞ お 受う け 取と り ください 。
It's just a small gift, but please accept it.
He lives alone in a modest apartment.
I want to cherish the little happinesses in life.
Usage patterns ささやかな 〈 物もの 〉 a modest/small〈thing〉 (e.g. gift, party)
It's just a small gift, but please accept it.
ささやかな 幸しあわ せ a small, humble happiness
Time spent with family is a modest happiness for me.
ささやかながら though it's small/modest
Modest as it is, we've arranged a small celebration.
ささやかな 夢ゆめ a modest dream/wish
Having a small shop of his own was his modest dream.
Related words 小さい is the general, neutral word for physically or numerically small, while ささやか adds a warm, modest, or humble nuance to something small in scale.
控えめ describes restrained or moderate behavior or quantity, whereas ささやか describes the inherent smallness or modesty of a thing itself.
わずか emphasizes that an amount is slight or barely enough, while ささやか often carries a gentler, more affectionate sense of smallness.
質素 describes a simple, unadorned lifestyle or style, while ささやか more broadly describes anything modest in scale, including gifts or events.
Opposites 盛大 describes something grand and lavish, the opposite of the modest, small-scale nuance of ささやか.
豪華 means luxurious and extravagant, contrasting with the humble, understated smallness of ささやか.
Written forms ささやか Usage 100%
Standard kana spelling; usually written in kana.
細ささ やか
Kanji form is rare; the word is usually written in kana. The kanji 細 suggests smallness or fineness.
Etymology Derived from the classical adjective ささやかなり, which originally meant 'small' or 'slight'. The exact derivation is uncertain, but it may be related to the reduplicated root ささ (small).
