Ways to say it
| Japanese | Romanization (Wiktionary) | IPA |
|---|---|---|
| ほっそりした | hossori shita | |
| 細い | hosoi | [ho̞so̞i] (narrow) |
| スリムな | surimu na |
Japanese has different ways to express being slender depending on whether you are describing a person's figure, an object or using modern loanwords. For example, you can say Sukoshi hosoi to mean 'a little slim'.
Which one should you use?
細い is a neutral term for thinness that applies to both objects, such as a rope and body parts, such as fingers. In contrast, ほっそりした is specifically used for a person's figure and carries a positive, aesthetic connotation of being gracefully slender. スリムな is a loanword from English used in modern contexts like fashion, dieting or describing product designs.
How does it change in a sentence?
ほっそりした functions as an adjectival phrase. It is the past tense form of the verb ほっそりする used as an attributive. スリムな is a na-adjective, which means it requires the particle な when it directly precedes a noun.
How do you pronounce it?
hossori shita
Did you know?
- The word 細い can be used metaphorically to describe a 'thin' or weak voice, or even a 'thin' relationship between two people.
- The word 細い underwent a major grammatical evolution where its ending changed from 'shi' to 'ki' before finally settling on the modern 'i' form.
- While ほっそりした is a compliment for a person, using the neutral 細い to describe a person's body can sometimes sound like you are calling them 'scrawny' or 'underfed'.
Examples in context
- トムって背が高いしスリムなのよ。Tom is tall and slim.This sentence is useful for practicing the use of スリムな.Tatoeba #9159192 by small_snow, translation #9155960 by Hybrid
- 彼は細いです。He is slim.
- 彼女はやせている。She is slim.
- 彼は少し細いです。He is a little slim.
- 彼女はほっそりした指をしている。Kanojo wa hossori shita yubi o shite iru.She has slender fingers.
- モデルのようなほっそりした体型ですね。Moderu no you na hossori shita taikei desu ne.You have a slender build like a model.
Example conversation
Two friends are talking about a fashion model in a magazine.
- 陽葵 Himariこのモデル、すごくほっそりしているね。Kono moderu, sugoku hossori shite iru ne.This model is really slender, isn't she?
- 健太 Kenta本当に、ほっそりした体型をしているね。Hontou ni, hossori shita taikei o shite iru ne.She really does have a slender build.
- 陽葵 Himari健太さんも、もっとほっそりした方がいいかも。Kenta-san mo, motto hossori shita hou ga ii kamo.Kenta, maybe you should be more slender too.
- 健太 Kenta僕は今のままでいいよ。Boku wa ima no mama de ii yo.I'm fine the way I am.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “slim” translations and entries 細い, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries 細い, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
