Word
大人しい
Meaning in Englishquiet, docile, well-behaved
Animated kanji stroke order
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)