Word
楽
Meaning in Englishcomfort, ease, relief
Animated kanji stroke order
Sentence
Related sentences
N3
去年に比べれば今年はかなり楽だった
Kyonen ni kurabereba kotoshi wa kanari raku datta
Compared last year easier
N4
日本語を勉強しながら音楽を聞きます。
Nihongo o benkyou shinagara ongaku o kikimasu.
I study Japanese while listening to music.
N4
音楽を聞きながら宿題をしました
Ongaku o kikinagara shukudai o shimashita
I did homework while listening to music
N4
音楽を聞きながら勉強します。
Ongaku o kiki nagara benkyou shimasu.
I study while listening to music.
N4
新しい言葉を覚えることは楽しいです。
Atarashii kotoba o oboeru koto wa tanoshii desu.
Learning new words is fun.
N4
日本語を勉強するのは楽しいです。
Nihongo o benkyou suru no wa tanoshii desu.
Studying Japanese is fun.
N5
今、音楽を聞いています。
Ima ongaku o kiite imasu.
I am listening to music now.
N5
あなたはどんな音楽が好きですか。
Anata wa donna ongaku ga suki desu ka.
What kind of music do you like?
N5
私は静かな音楽が好きです。
Watashi wa shizuka na ongaku ga suki desu.
I like calm music.
Word context
What it means
What does 楽 mean? It designates pleasure, ease, and enjoyment, and can refer to music or the sense of something being enjoyable or not burdensome.
Main meanings
- Pleasure and enjoyment in experiences, feelings of happiness when engaging in activities.
- Music and musicality; the word functions in semantic fields related to music and rhythm.
- Ease and comfort; absence of difficulty or effort; comfortable conditions.
- Leisure and recreation; a relaxed or entertaining atmosphere or event.
- Positive attitude or optimism in phrases like 楽観的 (らっかんてき).
How to use it
Used as a noun to denote pleasure or ease; as a kun-reading form, it appears in adjectives and verbs describing enjoyable or easy experiences; in casual speech you describe experiences as tanoshii, while 楽な describes ease or convenience; in music-related terms the on-reading gaku appears in compounds like ongaku.
Variants and close terms
- tanoshii — fun
- raku — easy/comfortable
- kaiteki — comfortable
- yōi — easy
- ongaku — music
Composition
- 楽 is a single-kanji character whose core meaning centers on joy, pleasure, and ease. It combines with other elements to form words related to music (音楽, gaku) and comfortable experiences (楽だ, raku).
Etymology
樂 gaku raku are the on readings derived from Chinese; the simplified form 楽 was developed in Japan; native kun readings include tanoshii, tanoshimu, and raku reflecting Japanese adaptation.
Word class
noun; na-adjective (形容動詞) in compounds and usage
Word
Related words by kanji and components
Kanji