Kanji

Jōyō kanji, Taught in junior high

JLPT level: N1

933 of 2500 most used kanji in newspapers

Stroke count: 15

Meaning: slacken, loosen, relax, lessen, be moderate, ease

Kunyomi: ゆる.い ゆる.やか ゆる.む ゆる.める

Onyomi: カン

Composition:

Radical

Radical:

Meaning: silk

Examples

Onyomi Examples

カンワ relief, mitigation, alleviation, relaxation (of restrictions, tensions, etc.), easing, softening

カンキュウ pace, tempo, slow and fast, in case of emergency

シカン relaxation (e.g. of muscles), becoming flaccid

軍紀弛 グンキチカン lack of (slackness in) military discipline, demoralization

Kunyomi Examples

ゆるい loose, lenient, lax, gentle (curve, slope, etc.), slow, weak, soft, not firm, difficult, hard

やか ゆるやか loose, slack, gentle (slope, curve), slow (speed), lenient, liberal, lax

やかに進む ゆるやかにすすむ to proceed slowly

ゆるむ to become loose, to slacken (e.g. rope), to become less tense, to relax, to let one's guard down, to slacken (e.g. coldness, supervision), to become lax, to become softer (e.g. ground, facial expression), (of ice) to partially melt, to decrease (e.g. speed), (of a market price) to go down slightly

める ゆるめる to loosen, to slacken, to relax (attention, efforts, etc.), to let down (one's guard), to relieve (tension), to relax (a rule), to ease (e.g. restrictions), to loosen (control), to reduce (speed), to slow down, to ease up, to make more gradual (of a slope)