Soft in Japanese: yawarakai, explained with its major conjugations

How to say “soft” in Japanese

Japanese people would say “yawarakai”. It is the Japanese word for ‘soft’. In this blog post, I will explain this word and its major conjugations. And also, I will explain how to use them through example sentences. Let’s get started!

Contents

• Definition and meanings of “yawarakai”
  • Example #1: how to say “soft” in Japanese
• Nai form of “yawarakai”
  • Example #2: how to say “not soft” in Japanese
• Ta form of “yawarakai”
  • Example #3: how to use the past tense form of “yawarakai”
• Te form of “yawarakai”
  • Example #4: how to use “yawarakai” before another adjective
• Ba form of “yawarakai”
  • Example #5: how to use “yawarakakereba”
• 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’, or ‘tender’ in Japanese.

Its definition and meanings are simple and clear, I think. Then, let me explain how to use it 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 a thing 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.
• wa – は : a binding particle working as a case marker or topic marker. In the example, this is used after the noun phrase, “kono tamago”, to make the subject in the sentence.

This is a typical usage of “yawarakai”. When we want to say “soft” in Japanese, this word would be the best choice. In this example, it works as a complement. Like other adjectives, however, it can also work as a modifier before a noun. So, we can say “yawarakai tamago” to mean ‘a soft egg’ in Japanese. It’s worth knowing.

In the rest part of this blog post, I will explain major conjugations of “yawarakai”. The first one is “yawarakakunai”.

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’, or ‘not tender’ in Japanese.

This nai form consists of the following two parts:

• yawarakaku – 柔らかく (やわらかく) : one conjugation of “yawarakai”. This can have the better 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 components, we can understand that “yawarakakunai” is literally the nai form of “yawarakai” and means ‘not soft’ or such in Japanese. Then, let me explain how to use it 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 a thing 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 say “not soft” in Japanese, this nai form would be the best choice.

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”, working as its past tense form. So, this means ‘was soft’, ‘were soft’ or such in Japanese.

This ta form 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 better connection with “ta”.
• ta – た : an auxiliary verb used after a verb, adjective, or auxiliary verb to make its ta form.

From these two components, we can understand that “yawarakakatta” is literally the ta form of “yawarakai”. In Japanese, ta forms of verbs and adjectives can work as their past tense forms. So, we can say “yawarakakatta” to mean ‘was soft’, ‘were soft’, or such in Japanese. Then, let me explain how to use it through the example sentence below.

Example #3: how to use the past tense form of “yawarakai”

This is a typical usage of “yawarakakatta”. When we want to say “was soft” in Japanese, this would be the best choice.

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”, meaning ‘soft’, ‘flexible’, or ‘tender’ in Japanese.

This te form consists of the following two parts:

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

A te form of an adjective can have a smooth connection with another adjective or a verb. So, “yawarakakute” is very useful when we want to use adjectives in a row. Let me explain how to use it through the example sentence below.

Example #4: how to use “yawarakai” before another adjective

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” before another adjective or a verb, its te form is useful.

Ba form of “yawarakai”

Below are 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”, used to make a conditional clause with the meaning of ‘soft’, ‘flexible’, or ‘tender’ in Japanese.

This ba form 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 better connection with “ba”.
• ba – ば : a conjunctive particle used after a verb, adjective, or auxiliary verb to make its ba form.

In Japanese, ba forms of verbs and adjectives can work as their conditional forms. So, “yawarakakereba” can work to make a conditional clause with the meaning of ‘soft’, ‘flexible’, or ‘tender’. Let me explain how to use it through the example sentence below.

Example #5: how to use “yawarakakereba”

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, it 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 such 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”.
• kudasai – ください : an auxiliary verb used after a verb 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 which means ‘if the egg is soft’. When we want to make a conditional clause with the meaning of ‘soft’, ‘flexible’, or ‘tender’ in Japanese, this ba form is useful.

Summary

In this blog post, I’ve explained the i-adjective, “yawarakai”, and its major conjugations with 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’, or ‘tender’ 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’, or ‘not tender’ in Japanese.
• yawarakakatta – 柔らかかった (やわらかかった) : the ta form of “yawarakai”, working as its past tense form. So, this means ‘was soft’, ‘were soft’ or such in Japanese.
• yawarakakute – 柔らかくて (やわらかくて) : the te form of “yawarakai”, meaning ‘soft’, ‘flexible’, or ‘tender’ in Japanese. This can have a smooth connection with another adjective or a verb. When we want to use “yawarakai” before another adjective, this is useful.
• yawarakakereba – 柔らかければ (やわらかければ) : the ba form of “yawarakai”, used to make a conditional clause with the meaning of ‘soft’, ‘flexible’, or ‘tender’ in Japanese.

Hope my explanations are understandable and helpful for Japanese learners.