Refers to refined beauty, taste, or cultured elegance, often contrasted with vulgarity (俗). Used as a noun or adjectival noun (e.g., 雅な).
Antonyms: 俗 (ぞく)
His writing has an air of refinement.
festal song (genre of the Shi Jing)
Technical term from classical Chinese poetry, referring to a category of songs in the Shi Jing (Book of Songs). Rarely used outside scholarly contexts.
See also: 六義
She wore an elegant kimono.
In classical literature, elegance was an important aesthetic ideal.
One of the six principles of the Shi Jing is 'festal song' (雅).
I sense a quiet elegance in the scenery of this garden.
優美 emphasizes graceful, beautiful bearing or movement, while 雅 covers broader cultivated taste and refinement.
風流 highlights artistic sensibility and appreciation of natural or aesthetic beauty, whereas 雅 focuses on the quality of elegance itself.
elegant; graceful; refined · leisurely; comfortable; carefree
person of refined taste; cultured individual
elegance; refinement; grace · elegant arts; refined pursuits
gagaku; traditional Japanese court music
refined; elegant; graceful; classic
Major Festal Songs; Da ya
elegant literary style; refined prose
artistry; elegance; grace; good taste
extensive knowledge; erudition
The kanji 雅 originally depicted a type of bird and came to represent correctness and refinement. The reading が is the on'yomi, used in literary and formal contexts.
classical elegance; antiquity
Minor Odes; minor festal song
profound elegance; refinement
elegant style; refined taste; literary grace
graceful; elegant; refined
graceful; affable; gentle and refined
elegant; handsome and refined
graceful; sophisticated; elegant