Word
痩せる
Meaning in Englishlose weight, become thin
Animated kanji stroke order
Word context
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)