Yawarakai is the Japanese i-adjective for ‘soft’, explained

What does “yawarakai” mean in Japanese?

Native speakers say “yawarakai” often to mean ‘soft’ in Japanese. Perhaps, some Japanese learners know this i-adjective as it is sometimes used in Japanese conversations. In this blog post, however, I will explain it together with its major conjugations. And also, I will explain how to use them through example sentences. My explanations would help Japanese learners understand “yawarakai” more clearly. Then, let’s get started!

Contents

• Definition and meanings of “yawarakai”
  • Example #1: how to say “soft” in Japanese
• Yawarakakunai: the nai form of “yawarakai”
  • Example #2: how to say “not soft” in Japanese
• Yawarakakatta: the ta form of “yawarakai”
  • Example #3: how to say “was soft” in Japanese
• Yawarakakute: the te form of “yawarakai”
  • Example #4: how to say “soft and” in Japanese
• Yawarakakereba: the ba form of “yawarakai”
  • Example #5: how to say “if soft” in Japanese
• Summary

Definition and meanings of “yawarakai”

Let me start with the definition and meanings of “yawarakai”.

• yawarakai – 柔らかい (やわらかい) : an i-adjective meaning ‘soft’, ‘flexible’, ‘tender’, or such in Japanese.

The definition and meanings are simple and clear, I think. Then, let me explain how to use this i-adjective through the example sentence below.

Example #1: how to say “soft” in Japanese

Below are the new words used in the example sentence.

• kono – この : a determiner used before a noun which refers to something close to the speaker. In the example, this is used before “tamago” to say “this egg” in Japanese.
• tamago – 卵 (たまご) : a noun meaning ‘egg’ in Japanese. This can also work as plural. Learn more about Japanese plural.
• wa – は : a binding particle working as a case marker or topic marker. In the example, this works after “kono tamago” to make the subject in the sentence.

This is a typical usage of “yawarakai”. In this example, it works as the complement in the sentence. Like other adjectives, however, it can also work as a modifier in front of a noun. For example, we can say “yawarakai tamago” to mean a ‘soft egg’ in Japanese. When we want to mean ‘soft’ in Japanese, anyway, this i-adjective is a very good option.

So far, I’ve explained the definition and meanings of “yawarakai” and how to use it through the example sentence. In the rest part of this blog post, I will explain its major conjugations. The first one is “yawarakakunai”.

Yawarakakunai: the nai form of “yawarakai”

Below are the definition and meanings of “yawarakakunai”.

• yawarakakunai – 柔らかくない (やわらかくない) : the nai form of “yawarakai”, meaning ‘not soft’, ‘not flexible’, ‘not tender’, or such in Japanese.

Grammatically, “yawarakakunai” consists of the following two parts:

• yawarakaku – 柔らかく (やわらかく) : one conjugation of “yawarakai”. This can have the smooth connection with “nai”.
• nai – ない : an auxiliary verb used after a verb, adjective, or auxiliary verb to deny its meaning. Word orders in Japanese and English are different, but the role of this auxiliary verb is similar to that of “not”.

From these two parts, we can understand that “yawarakakunai” is literally the nai form of “yawarakai” and means ‘not soft’, ‘not flexible’, ‘not tender’, or such in Japanese. Then, let me explain how to use this nai form through the example sentence below.

Example #2: how to say “not soft” in Japanese

Below is the new word used in the example sentence.

• ano – あの : a determiner used before a noun which refers to something not close to the speaker. In the example, this is used before “tamago” to say “that egg” in Japanese.

This is a typical usage of “yawarakakunai”. When we want to mean ‘not soft’ in Japanese, this nai form is a very good option.

Yawarakakatta: the ta form of “yawarakai”

Below are the definition and meanings of “yawarakakatta”.

• yawarakakatta – 柔らかかった (やわらかかった) : the ta form of “yawarakai”, which means ‘was soft’, ‘was flexible’, ‘was tender’, or such in Japanese.

Grammatically, “yawarakakatta” consists of the following two parts:

• yawarakakat – 柔らかかっ (やわらかかっ) : one conjugation of “yawarakai”. This can have the smooth connection with “ta”.
• ta – た : an auxiliary verb used after a verb, adjective, or auxiliary verb to make its past tense form. Probably, this is well known as a part of Japanese ta form.

From these two parts, we can understand that “yawarakakatta” is literally the ta form of “yawarakai” and means ‘was soft’, ‘was flexible’, ‘was tender’, or such in Japanese. Then, let me explain how to use this ta form through the example sentence below.

Example #3: how to say “was soft” in Japanese

This is a typical usage of “yawarakakatta”. When we want to use the past tense form of “yawarakai”, this ta form is the best option.

Yawarakakute: the te form of “yawarakai”

Below are the definition and meanings of “yawarakakute”.

• yawarakakute – 柔らかくて (やわらかくて) : the te form of “yawarakai”, which means ‘soft’, ‘flexible’, ‘tender’, or such in Japanese.

Grammatically, “yawarakakute” consists of the following two parts:

• yawarakaku – 柔らかく (やわらかく) : one conjugation of “yawarakai”. This can have the smooth connection with “te”.
• te – て : a conjunctive particle used after a verb, adjective, or auxiliary verb to make its te form.

From these two parts, we can understand that “yawarakakute” is literally the te form of “yawarakai”. In Japanese, te-formed words have some important roles. One of them is make smooth connections of words. So, “yawarakakute” is very useful when we want to use “yawarakai” in front of another adjective, a verb, or an auxiliary verb. Let me explain this usage through the example sentence below.

Example #4: how to say “soft and” in Japanese

Below is the new word used in the example sentence.

• atatakai – 温かい (あたたかい) : an i-adjective meaning ‘warm’ in Japanese.

This is a typical usage of “yawarakakute”. In the example, it has the smooth connection with “atatakai”. When we want to use “yawarakai” in front of another adjective like this, its te form is useful to make a smooth connection.

Yawarakakereba: the ba form of “yawarakai”

Lastly, let me explain the definition and meanings of “yawarakakereba”.

• yawarakakereba – 柔らかければ (やわらかければ) : the ba form of “yawarakai”, making a conditional clause in a sentence with meaning ‘soft’, ‘flexible’, ‘tender’, or such in Japanese.

Grammatically, “yawarakakereba” consists of the following two parts:

• yawarakakere – 柔らかけれ (やわらかけれ) : one conjugation of “yawarakai”. This can have the smooth connection with “ba”.
• ba – ば : a conjunctive particle used after a verb, adjective, or auxiliary verb to make its ba form.

From these two parts, we can understand that “yawarakakereba” is literally the ba form of “yawarakai”. In Japanese, the ba forms of words can work as their conditional forms. So, we can use”yawarakakereba” to make a conditional clause in a sentence with adding the meaning of ‘soft’, ‘flexible’, ‘tender’, or such in Japanese. Let me explain this usage through the example sentence below.

Example #5: how to say “if soft” in Japanese

Below are the new words used in the example sentence.

• ga – が : a case particle used to make the subject word or the object word in a sentence. In the example, this is used after “tamago” to make the subject in the conditional clause.
• oshie – 教え (おしえ) : one conjugation of the verb, “oshieru“, which means ‘to teach’, ‘to tell’, ‘to inform’, or ‘to let someone know’ in Japanese. In the example, it has been conjugated for the better connection with its following word.
• te – て : the same as used in “yawarakakute”. In this example, this is used after “oshie” to make its te form, “oshie te”. Verbs need to be changed to their te forms to be connected with “kudasai”.
• kudasai – ください : one conjugation of the verb, “kudasaru”, which means ‘to give’ or such in Japanese. When this follows a verb, however, this can work like an auxiliary verb to add the meaning of ‘please’. In the example, this works like an auxiliary verb after “oshie te” to add the meaning of ‘please’.

This is a typical usage of “yawarakakereba”. In this example, it works as a part of the conditional clause, “tamago ga yawarakakereba”, which means ‘if the egg is soft’ in Japanese. When we want to make a conditional clause in a sentence with adding the meaning of ‘soft’, ‘flexible’, ‘tender’, or such in Japanese, this ba form is a very good option.

Summary

In this blog post, I’ve explained the definition and meanings of “yawarakai” together with its major conjugations. And also, I’ve explained how to use them through the example sentences. Let me summarize them as follows.

• yawarakai – 柔らかい (やわらかい) : an i-adjective meaning ‘soft’, ‘flexible’, ‘tender’, or such in Japanese. This can work as both a modifier and a complement.
• yawarakakunai – 柔らかくない (やわらかくない) : the nai form of “yawarakai”, meaning ‘not soft’, ‘not flexible’, ‘not tender’, or such in Japanese.
• yawarakakatta – 柔らかかった (やわらかかった) : the ta form of “yawarakai”, which means ‘was soft’, ‘was flexible’, ‘was tender’, or such in Japanese. This is the past tense form of “yawarakai”.
• yawarakakute – 柔らかくて (やわらかくて) : the te form of “yawarakai”, which means ‘soft’, ‘flexible’, ‘tender’, or such in Japanese. When we want to use “yawarakai” in front of another adjective, this te form is useful to make a smooth connection.
• yawarakakereba – 柔らかければ (やわらかければ) : the ba form of “yawarakai”, making a conditional clause in a sentence with meaning ‘soft’, ‘flexible’, ‘tender’, or such in Japanese.

Hope my explanations are understandable and helpful for Japanese learners.