King's Kung-Fu& Tai Chi

Japanese symbol for “lithe”

Romaji: juunan
flexible; lithe; soft; pliable

In Japanese, lithe is , read (juunan).

Before using these characters for a tattoo, check them with a native speaker. Dictionary words often have several meanings, and the right choice depends on context.

Meanings

  1. adj-na, n flexible; lithe; soft; pliable
  2. n calisthenics

Kanji and stroke order

tender, weakness, gentleness
on: ジュウ、ニュウ
kun: やわ.らか、やわ.らかい、やわ、やわ.ら
9 strokes · JLPT 2
soft
on: ナン
kun: やわ.らか、やわ.らかい
11 strokes · JLPT 2

Other Japanese words for “lithe”

WordReadingMeaning
すんなり sunnarislim; slender; lithe
なよやか nayoyakasupple; pliant; slender

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

WordReadingMeaning
じゅうどう juudoujudo
やわらかい yawarakaisoft; tender; supple
やわらか yawarakasoft; tender; pliant
ゆうじゅうふだん yuujuufudanindecisive; irresolute; shilly-shally
にゅうわ nyuuwagentle; mild; meek
なんじゃく nanjakusoft and lacking firmness; weak; fragile
なんこつ nankotsucartilage
なんか nankasoftening

See also: Chinese symbol for “lithe”.

Data: JMdict (CC BY-SA 4.0); KANJIDIC2 (CC BY-SA 4.0); KanjiVG (CC BY-SA 3.0); wordfreq (CC BY-SA 4.0 (data)). Retrieved 2026-10-22.

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