優しい

Pattern visualization

Examples

1. 先生はやさしい人です。▶ —
   The teacher is a kind person.
2. この本は読みやすいです。▶ —
   This book is easy to read.

Collocations

Mnemonic

やさしい yasashii — splits across two kanji: (1) 優しい = kind / gentle (judgment of character), (2) 易しい = easy (difficulty rating). Same sound, distinct kanji decide the meaning. The verbal suffix ~やすい ("easy to") shares the 易 root: 読みやすい (easy to read), 分かりやすい (easy to understand). Figurative: 優しい曲 (gentle tune), 優しい味 (mild flavor). Korean splits "easy" and "kind" lexically; Japanese keeps them homophonous and kanji disambiguates. Kanji learning anchors the semantic branch.

Quick check

1. Kanji branch for "やさしい person" vs "やさしい problem"?

   • 優しい人 (kind) vs 易しい問題 (easy)
   • Both 優しい
   • Both 易しい
   • Same kanji regardless