# 柔

| 柔 | U+67D4, &#26580; CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-67D4 |
| ← 染 [U+67D3] | CJK Unified Ideographs | 柕 → [U+67D5] |

## Translingual
### Han character

柔 (Kangxi radical 75, 木+5, 9 strokes, cangjie input 弓竹木 (NHD), four-corner 1790$_4$, composition ⿱矛木)

#### References

* Kangxi Dictionary: page 519, character 5
* Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 14622
* Dae Jaweon: page 907, character 4
* Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 2, page 1192, character 2
* Unihan data for U+67D4

## Chinese
### Glyph origin

| | Old Chinese |
| 堥 | *muː, *mu |
| 蓩 | *muːʔ, *moːɡ |
| 猱 | *ml'uː, *mljiwʔ, *ml'us |
| 茅 | *mruː |
| 罞 | *mruː, *muːŋ |
| 蝥 | *mruː, *mu, *mo, *moɡs |
| 鶜 | *mruː |
| 瞀 | *moːɡs, *mroːɡ |
| 愗 | *moːɡs |
| 袤 | *mus |
| 雺 | *mus, *mu, *muːŋ, *muːŋs |
| 懋 | *mus |
| 楙 | *mus |
| 矛 | *mu |
| 蟊 | *mu |
| 髳 | *mu, *muːŋ |
| 鍪 | *mu |
| 鞪 | *mu, *moːɡ |
| 糅 | *ml'us |
| 腬 | *ml'us, *mlju |
| 柔 | *mlju |
| 揉 | *mju |
| 蹂 | *mju, *mjuʔ, *mjus |
| 鍒 | *mju |
| 騥 | *mju |
| 蝚 | *mju |
| 葇 | *mju, *mjuʔ |
| 鞣 | *mju, *mjus |
| 鰇 | *mju |
| 瑈 | *mju |
| 鶔 | *mju |
| 楺 | *mjuʔ |
| 煣 | *mjuʔ, *mjus |
| 輮 | *mjuʔ, *mjus |
| 韖 | *mjuʔ |
| 敄 | *moʔ, *mos |
| 務 | *moɡs |
| 鶩 | *moɡs, *moːɡ |
| 騖 | *moɡs |
| 婺 | *moɡs |
| 霚 | *moɡs, *moːŋ |
| 嵍 | *moɡs |
| 霧 | *moɡs, *moːŋ |
| 霿 | *moːŋ, *moːŋs |
| 楘 | *moːɡ |
Phono-semantic compound (形聲 / 形声, OC *mlju): phonetic 矛 (OC *mu) + semantic 木 (“tree”) – wood soft enough that it can easily be cut.

### Etymology

From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *now (“tender; soft”), which has also been compared to:
* 揉 (OC *mju, “knead, massage”)
* 懦 (OC *noːls, *njo, “pliant, cowardly”)
* 耎 (OC *njonʔ), 輭 (OC *njonʔ, “pliant, soft”)
* 肉 (OC *njuɡ, “meat”)
* 弱 (OC *njewɢ, “weak”)
* 荏 (OC *njɯmʔ, “weak”)
* 軟 (OC *njonʔ, “soft”)
* 孺 (OC *njos, “young and small”)
Outside of Sinitic, compare Burmese နူး (nu:, “tender”) (STEDT; Schuessler, 2007).

#### “ronto-”

    Phono-semantic matching of English ronto-. Coined by the China National Committee for Terminology in Science and Technology and the State Administration for Market Regulation on World Metrology Day in 2023 (20 May 2023).

### Pronunciation

* Mandarin
    (Pinyin): róu (rou$^2$)
    (Zhuyin): ㄖㄡˊ
* Cantonese (Jyutping): jau$^4$
* Hakka
    (Sixian, PFS): yù
    (Meixian, Guangdong): yu$^2$
* Eastern Min (BUC): iù
* Southern Min
    (Hokkien, POJ): liû / jiû
    (Teochew, Peng'im): riu$^5$
* Mandarin
** (Standard Chinese)
*** Hanyu Pinyin: róu
*** Zhuyin: ㄖㄡˊ
*** Tongyong Pinyin: róu
*** Wade–Giles: jou$^2$
*** Yale: róu
*** Gwoyeu Romatzyh: rou
*** Palladius: жоу (žou)
*** Sinological IPA : /ʐoʊ̯³⁵/
* Cantonese
** (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)
*** Jyutping: jau$^4$
*** Yale: yàuh
*** Cantonese Pinyin: jau$^4$
*** Guangdong Romanization: yeo$^4$
*** Sinological IPA : /jɐu̯²¹/
* Hakka
** (Northern Sixian, incl. Miaoli)
*** Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: yù
*** Hakka Romanization System: iu$^ˇ$
*** Hagfa Pinyim: yiu$^2$
*** Sinological IPA: /i̯u¹¹/
** (Southern Sixian, incl. Neipu)
*** Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: yù
*** Hakka Romanization System: (r)iu$^ˇ$
*** Hagfa Pinyim: yiu$^2$
*** Sinological IPA: /(j)i̯u¹¹/
** (Meixian)
*** Guangdong: yu$^2$
*** Sinological IPA: /iu¹¹/
* Eastern Min
** (Fuzhou)
*** Bàng-uâ-cê: iù
*** Sinological IPA : /ieu⁵³/
* Southern Min
** (Hokkien: Xiamen, Quanzhou, Taipei)
*** Pe̍h-ōe-jī: liû
*** Tâi-lô: liû
*** Phofsit Daibuun: liuu
*** IPA (Xiamen, Quanzhou, Taipei): /liu²⁴/
** (Hokkien: Zhangzhou, Kaohsiung)
*** Pe̍h-ōe-jī: jiû
*** Tâi-lô: jiû
*** Phofsit Daibuun: jiuu
*** IPA (Zhangzhou): /d͡ziu¹³/
*** IPA (Kaohsiung): /ziu²³/
** (Teochew)
*** Peng'im: riu$^5$
*** Pe̍h-ōe-jī-like: jiû
*** Sinological IPA : /d͡ziu⁵⁵/
* Dialectal data
| Variety | Location | edit柔 |
| Mandarin | Beijing | /ʐou³⁵/ |
| Mandarin | Harbin | /ʐou²⁴/ |
| Mandarin | Tianjin | /iou⁴⁵/ /ʐou⁴⁵/ |
| Mandarin | Jinan | /ʐou⁴²/ |
| Mandarin | Qingdao | /iou⁴²/ |
| Mandarin | Zhengzhou | /ʐou⁴²/ |
| Mandarin | Xi'an | /ʐou²⁴/ |
| Mandarin | Xining | /ʐɯ²¹³/ |
| Mandarin | Yinchuan | /ʐəu⁵³/ |
| Mandarin | Lanzhou | /ʐou⁵³/ |
| Mandarin | Ürümqi | /ʐɤu⁵¹/ |
| Mandarin | Wuhan | /nəu²¹³/ |
| Mandarin | Chengdu | /zəu³¹/ |
| Mandarin | Guiyang | /zəu²¹/ |
| Mandarin | Kunming | /ʐəu³¹/ |
| Mandarin | Nanjing | /ʐəɯ²⁴/ |
| Mandarin | Hefei | /ʐɯ⁵⁵/ |
| Jin | Taiyuan | /zəu¹¹/ |
| Jin | Pingyao | /ʐəu¹³/ |
| Jin | Hohhot | /ʐəu³¹/ |
| Wu | Shanghai | /zɤ²³/ |
| Wu | Suzhou | /zɤ¹³/ |
| Wu | Hangzhou | /zei²¹³/ |
| Wu | Wenzhou | /jɤu³¹/ |
| Hui | Shexian | /iu⁴⁴/ |
| Hui | Tunxi | |
| Xiang | Changsha | /iəu¹³/ |
| Xiang | Xiangtan | /iəɯ¹²/ |
| Gan | Nanchang | |
| Hakka | Meixian | /iu¹¹/ |
| Hakka | Taoyuan | /ʒiu¹¹/ |
| Cantonese | Guangzhou | /jɐu²¹/ |
| Cantonese | Nanning | /jɐu²¹/ |
| Cantonese | Hong Kong | /jɐu²¹/ |
| Min | Xiamen (Hokkien) | /liu³⁵/ |
| Min | Fuzhou (Eastern Min) | /ieu⁵³/ |
| Min | Jian'ou (Northern Min) | /iu²¹/ |
| Min | Shantou (Teochew) | /zĩu⁵⁵/ |
| Min | Haikou (Hainanese) | /ziu²¹³/ |
* Middle Chinese: nyuw
Rime :
| Character | 柔 |
| Reading # | 1/1 |
| Initial (聲) | 日 (38) |
| Final (韻) | 尤 (136) |
| Tone (調) | Level (Ø) |
| Openness (開合) | Open |
| Division (等) | III |
| Fanqie | 耳由切 |
| Baxter | nyuw |
| Reconstructions ||
| Zhengzhang Shangfang | /ȵɨu/ |
| Pan Wuyun | /ȵiu/ |
| Shao Rongfen | /ȵʑiəu/ |
| Edwin Pulleyblank | /ȵuw/ |
| Li Rong | /ȵiu/ |
| Wang Li | /ȵʑĭəu/ |
| Bernhard Karlgren | /ȵʑi̯ə̯u/ |
| Expected Mandarin Reflex | róu |
| Expected Cantonese Reflex | jau$^4$ |
* Old Chinese
    (Baxter–Sagart): /*nu/
    (Zhengzhang): /*mlju/
Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014) :
| Character | 柔 |
| Reading # | 1/1 |
| Modern Beijing (Pinyin) | róu |
| Middle Chinese | ‹ nyuw › |
| Old Chinese | /*nu/ |
| English | soft |
| Notes for Old Chinese notations in the Baxter–Sagart system: * Parentheses "" indicate uncertain presence; * Square brackets "" indicate uncertain identity, e.g. *[t] as coda may in fact be *-t or *-p; * Angle brackets "<>" indicate infix; * Hyphen "-" indicates morpheme boundary; * Period "." indicates syllable boundary. ||
Zhengzhang system (2003) :
| Character | 柔 |
| Reading # | 1/1 |
| No. | 8825 |
| Phonetic component | 矛 |
| Rime group | 幽 |
| Rime subdivision | 1 |
| Corresponding MC rime | 柔 |
| Old Chinese | /*mlju/ |

### Definitions

柔
* soft; supple
* to soften
* gentle; pliant
* to make gentle
* (～州) Short for 柔佛 (Róufó, “Johor”).
* [from 2023] (Mainland China) ronto- (SI unit prefix)
    Synonym: 絨 / 绒 (róng) (Taiwan)

#### Descendants

* → Japanese: 柔(じゅう) (jū)
* → Korean: 유(柔) (yu)
* → Vietnamese: nhu (柔)

### Compounds

* 以柔克剛 / 以柔克刚
* 以柔制剛 / 以柔制刚
* 俠骨柔腸 / 侠骨柔肠
* 優柔 / 优柔
* 優柔寡斷 / 优柔寡断 (yōuróuguǎduàn)
* 克柔
* 內柔外剛 / 内柔外刚 (nèiróuwàigāng)
* 剛柔 / 刚柔 (gāngróu)
* 剛柔並濟 / 刚柔并济
* 剛柔相濟 / 刚柔相济 (gāngróuxiāngjì)
* 吐剛茹柔 / 吐刚茹柔
* 善柔
* 外剛內柔 / 外刚内柔
* 外柔內剛 / 外柔内刚
* 嬌柔 / 娇柔 (jiāoróu)
* 懷柔 / 怀柔 (huáiróu)
* 摧剛為柔 / 摧刚为柔
* 柔中有剛 / 柔中有刚 (róuzhōngyǒugāng)
* 柔光鏡 / 柔光镜
* 柔克
* 柔化 (róuhuà)
* 柔和 (róuhé)
* 柔嘉
* 柔婉
* 柔媚 (róumèi)
* 柔嫩 (róunèn)
* 柔弱 (róuruò)
* 柔心弱骨
* 柔性勸導 / 柔性劝导
* 柔性憲法 / 柔性宪法
* 柔情 (róuqíng)
* 柔情密意
* 柔情萬千 / 柔情万千
* 柔情綽態 / 柔情绰态
* 柔懦
* 柔懦寡斷 / 柔懦寡断
* 柔握
* 柔日
* 柔枝嫩葉 / 柔枝嫩叶
* 柔柯
* 柔條 / 柔条
* 柔毫
* 柔滑
* 柔潤 / 柔润
* 柔然 (Róurán)
* 柔細 / 柔细 (róuxì)
* 柔美 (róuměi)
* 柔翰
* 柔聲 / 柔声
* 柔聲下氣 / 柔声下气
* 柔能克剛 / 柔能克刚
* 柔能制剛 / 柔能制刚
* 柔腸 / 柔肠 (róucháng)
* 柔腸寸斷 / 柔肠寸断 (róuchángcùnduàn)
* 柔腸百結 / 柔肠百结
* 柔腸百轉 / 柔肠百转
* 柔舌
* 柔色
* 柔若無骨 / 柔若无骨
* 柔荑 (róutí)
* 柔茹剛吐 / 柔茹刚吐
* 柔茹寡斷 / 柔茹寡断
* 柔術 / 柔术 (róushù)
* 柔軟 / 柔软 (róuruǎn)
* 柔軟體操 / 柔软体操
* 柔道 (róudào)
* 柔遠 / 柔远 (róuyuǎn)
* 柔遠能邇 / 柔远能迩
* 柔韌 / 柔韧 (róurèn)
* 柔順 / 柔顺 (róushùn)
* 柔麻
* 桑柔
* 溫柔 / 温柔 (wēnróu)
* 溫柔敦厚 / 温柔敦厚
* 溫柔鄉 / 温柔乡
* 玉柔
* 玉軟花柔 / 玉软花柔
* 細柔 / 细柔
* 繞指柔 / 绕指柔
* 纖柔 / 纤柔
* 腼腆溫柔
* 茹柔吐剛 / 茹柔吐刚
* 軟柔柔 / 软柔柔
* 輕柔 / 轻柔
* 輯柔 / 辑柔
* 鐵骨柔情 / 铁骨柔情
* 陰柔害物 / 阴柔害物
* 韋柔 / 韦柔

#### See also

SI prefix :
| Last | | Next |
| 攸/幺 | 絨/柔 / 绒/柔 | 匱/虧 / 匮/亏 |

## Japanese
### Kanji

(Jōyō kanji)

#### Readings

* Go-on: にゅう (nyū, Jōyō)
* Kan-on: じゅう (jū, Jōyō)
* Kun: やわらか (yawaraka, 柔らか, Jōyō)、やわらかい (yawarakai, 柔らかい, Jōyō)、やわらぐ (yawaragu, 柔らぐ)、やわらげる (yawarageru, 柔らげる)
* Nanori: とお (tō)、なり (nari)、やす (yasu)、よし (yoshi)

#### Compounds

* 外(がい)柔(じゅう)内(ない)剛(ごう) (gaijūnaigō)
* 柔(やわ)柔(やわ) (yawayawa)

### Etymology 1

* Kanji in this term
* 柔
* じゅう Grade: S
* kan'on
/d͡ʑɨu/ → /d͡ʑuː/ → /ʑuː/
From Middle Chinese 柔 (MC nyuw).

#### Pronunciation

* (Tokyo) じゅう [júꜜù] (Atamadaka –)
* IPA: [d͡ʑɨː]

#### Affix

柔(じゅう) • (jū)
* gentle, soft, supple
* calm, gentle, mild, peaceful
* calm, relieve, soften
* martial art involving gentleness, such as jujitsu or judo

##### Derived terms

* 柔(じゅう)弱(じゃく) (jūjaku)
* 柔(じゅう)術(じゅつ) (jūjutsu)
* 柔(じゅう)順(じゅん) (jūjun)
* 柔(じゅう)道(どう) (jūdō)
* 柔(じゅう)軟(なん) (jūnan)
* 温(おん)柔(じゅう) (onjū)
* 懐(かい)柔(じゅう) (kaijū)
* 剛(ごう)柔(じゅう) (gōjū)
* 優(ゆう)柔(じゅう) (yūjū)

#### Noun

柔(じゅう) • (jū)
* gentleness, softness, suppleness; also, such an object

##### Derived terms

* 柔(じゅう)細(さい)胞(ぼう) (jūsaibō)
* 柔(じゅう)組(そ)織(しき) (jūsoshiki)
* 柔(じゅう)懦(だ) (jūda)
* 柔(じゅう)突(とっ)起(き) (jūtokki)
* 柔(じゅう)毛(もう) (jūmō)

##### Idioms

* 柔(じゅう)能(よ)く剛(ごう)を制(せい)す (jū yoku gō o seisu)
* 柔(じゅう)も亦(また)茹(くら)わず剛(ごう)も亦(また)吐(は)かず (jū mo mata kurawazu gō mo mata hakazu)

### Etymology 2

* Kanji in this term
* 柔
* にゅう Grade: S
* goon
/nɨu/ → /ɲuː/
From Middle Chinese 柔 (MC nyuw).

#### Pronunciation

* (Tokyo) にゅう [nyùú] (Heiban – [0])
* IPA: [ɲ̟ɨː]

#### Affix

柔(にゅう) • (nyū)
* gentle, supple, weak
* kindhearted

##### Derived terms

* 柔(にゅう)弱(じゃく) (nyūjaku)
* 柔(にゅう)和(わ) (nyūwa)

### Etymology 3

* Kanji in this term
* 柔
* やわ Grade: S
* kun'yomi
* Alternative spelling
* 和
/jaɸa/ → /jawa/
Possibly a back-formation from 柔柔 (yawayawa, “soft, supple”).

#### Pronunciation

* (Tokyo) やわ [yáꜜwà] (Atamadaka –)
* IPA: [ja̠β̞a̠]

#### Adjective

柔(やわ) • (yawa) -na (adnominal 柔(やわ)な (yawa na), adverbial 柔(やわ)に (yawa ni))
* weak

##### Derived terms

* 柔(やわ)い (yawai)

### Etymology 4

* Kanji in this term
* 柔
* やわ(ら) Grade: S
* kun'yomi
* For pronunciation and definitions of 柔 – see the following entry: 柔ら
(The following entry does not have a page created for it yet: 柔ら.)

### References

* 1 2 Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN
* 1 2 NHK Broadcasting Culture Research Institute, editor (1998), NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 [NHK Japanese Pronunciation Accent Dictionary] (in Japanese), Tokyo: NHK Publishing, Inc., →ISBN

## Korean
### Hanja

柔 • (yu) (hangeul 유, revised yu, McCune–Reischauer yu, Yale yu)
* This term needs a translation to English. Please help out and add a translation, then remove the text {{rfdef}}.

## Vietnamese
### Han character

柔: Hán Nôm readings: nhu

#### Adjective

柔
* chữ Hán form of nhu (“(of behavior and personality) soft; gentle”).

##### Derived terms

* 剛柔 (cương nhu)
* 柔弱 (nhu nhược)