Word
大人しい
Meaning in Englishquiet, docile, well-behaved
Animated kanji stroke order
Sentence
Related sentences
Related sentences
There are no published items in this section yet.
Word context
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.
Variants and close terms
- 静かな (shizuka na) quiet
- 穏やかな (odayaka na) calm, gentle
- 従順な (juujun na) obedient
- 控えめな (hikaeme na) modest
- 活発な (kappatsu na) energetic (antonym)
Composition
- 大: big, great
- 人: person; together 大人 means adult
- しい: adjective ending that turns a base into an i-adjective
- Combining 大人 and しい yields a descriptor of a calm, mature demeanor
Etymology
大人 (otona) + しい (otonashii) — from the noun 大人 meaning adult, plus the i-adjective suffix しい; the form signals a state of maturity and self-control, with the reading おとなしい (otonashii).
Word class
i-adjective (形容詞)
Word
Related words by kanji and components
N3
大臣
daijin
minister, cabinet member
N3
大戦
taisen
great war, major battle
N3
大統領
daitouryou
president, head of state
N3
大半
taihan
majority, most part
N3
大部分
daibubun
most part, large portion
N3
大陸
tairiku
continent, mainland
N3
他人
tanin
other person, stranger
N3
人気
ninki
popularity
N3
人間
ningen
human being, person, humanity
Kanji