Japanese symbol for “loosen”
緩める
ゆるめる
Romaji: yurumeru
to loosen; to slacken
In Japanese, loosen is 緩める, read ゆるめる (yurumeru).
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
- v1, vt to loosen; to slacken
- v1, vt to relax (attention, efforts, etc.); to let down (one's guard); to relieve (tension)
- v1, vt to relax (a rule); to ease (e.g. restrictions); to loosen (control)
- v1, vt to reduce (speed); to slow down; to ease up
- v1, vt to make more gradual (of a slope)
Written forms: 緩める、弛める. Readings: ゆるめる.
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “loosen”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 解く | ほどく hodoku | to undo; to untie; to unfasten |
| 解す | ほぐす hogusu | to disentangle; to untangle; to unravel |
| 解す | ほつす hotsusu | to disentangle; to untangle; to unravel |
| 弛む | たるむ tarumu | to slacken; to loosen; to relax |
| 弛める | たるめる tarumeru | to slacken; to loosen |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 緩和 | かんわ kanwa | relief; mitigation; alleviation |
| 緩やか | ゆるやか yuruyaka | loose; slack |
| 緩い | ゆるい yurui | loose |
| 緩む | ゆるむ yurumu | to become loose; to slacken (e.g. rope) |
| 緩慢 | かんまん kanman | slow; sluggish; dull |
| 緩急 | かんきゅう kankyuu | high and low speed; fast and slow; pace |
See also: Chinese symbol for “loosen”.
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.