親切
しんせつ
hepburn shinsetsu
kind, considerate
Part of speech · na-adjective
Pattern visualization
親parent
Show part origins
切cut
Show part origins
Show stroke order animation
16 strokes · 11.1s
4 strokes · 2.7s
Examples
- 駅員さんは親切でした。The station staff was kind.
- 親切な人がたくさんいます。There are many kind people.
Collocations
親切 (shinsetsu, kind / helpful — na-adj)優しい (yasashii, kind — i-adj counterpart)冷たい (tsumetai, cold / unkind — opposite for 親切)丁寧 (teinei, polite / careful)思いやり (omoiyari, consideration)
Mnemonic
親切 shinsetsu — na-adjective. Kanji "intimate (親) + earnest (切)" = "approaching with earnest warmth". Trap: 切 means "cut" by default but also carries the sense "earnest, pressing"; 親切 leans on the second. Same kanji as Korean chinjeol. Compare with 優しい (yasashii): 優しい = the character itself is gentle; 親切 = manifests kindness through concrete action (giving directions, helping). Pair them in study. Korean splits "kind / warm" similarly — the start of refining character vocabulary in N5.
Quick check
Precise difference between 優しい and 親切?