Word
Kana: やせる Romaji: yaseru Level: N4

痩せる

Meaning in English

lose weight, become thin

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What it means

痩せる means to lose weight or become thinner, describing a reduction in body mass or fat, typically through dieting, exercise, or illness.

Main meanings

  • Voluntary weight loss through dieting or exercise.
  • Involuntary thinning due to illness, aging, or wasting away.
  • Becoming noticeably slimmer or leaner over time in everyday description.

How to use it

Used in casual and formal contexts to describe weight loss or slimming; common with phrases such as 痩せる前に, 痩せたい, 痩せた; often used with nouns like 体重 or 体; appears in health, fitness, and lifestyle contexts.

Variants and close terms

  • やせる (yaseru) – same meaning in kana form
  • 減量する (げんりょうする, genryou suru) – to reduce weight, more formal
  • ふとる (futoru) – antonym, to gain weight
  • やつれる (yatsureru) – to waste away, negative nuance

Composition

  • 痩: thin, lean
  • る: ru-verb suffix forming a one-step conjugation verb

Etymology

痩 thin, lean; やせ is the kun-reading; the verb form やせる is formed by adding the suffix る to the root, yielding a native Japanese ru-verb. The character reflects the slimming concept; older variants include 瘦.</

Word class

verb (ichidan, ru-verb)

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