大人しい

What it means

大人しい means being calm, quiet, and well-behaved, displaying restraint and a mild demeanor rather than energy or loudness; it often implies a mature, composed way of conducting oneself.

Main meanings

• Calm, gentle, and well-behaved in social interactions
• Used for animals to indicate docility or tameness
• Conveys a restrained, passive temperament rather than energy or assertiveness
• Often implies maturity or propriety in conduct

How to use it

Used to describe calm, compliant behavior in both people and animals; can modify nouns directly or be used predicatively; appropriate in casual speech and descriptive writing; typically conveys a mild, restrained temperament rather than liveliness.