溫柔

See also: 温柔

Chinese

		(luke)warm; to review	soft
trad. (溫柔/温柔)		溫/温	柔
simp. (温柔)		温	柔

Pronunciation

Mandarin
(Pinyin): wēnróu

(Zhuyin): ㄨㄣㄖㄡˊ
Cantonese (Jyutping): wan¹ jau⁴
Southern Min (Hokkien, POJ): un-liû / un-jiû

Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese)⁺
  - Hanyu Pinyin: wēnróu
  - Zhuyin: ㄨㄣㄖㄡˊ
  - Tongyong Pinyin: wunróu
  - Wade–Giles: wên¹-jou²
  - Yale: wēn-róu
  - Gwoyeu Romatzyh: uenrou
  - Palladius: вэньжоу (vɛnʹžou)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /wən⁵⁵ ʐoʊ̯³⁵/
Cantonese
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
  - Jyutping: wan¹ jau⁴
  - Yale: wān yàuh
  - Cantonese Pinyin: wan¹ jau⁴
  - Guangdong Romanization: wen¹ yeo⁴
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /wɐn⁵⁵ jɐu̯²¹/
Southern Min
- (Hokkien: Xiamen, Quanzhou, Taipei)
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī: un-liû
  - Tâi-lô: un-liû
  - Phofsit Daibuun: unliuu
  - IPA (Xiamen): /un⁴⁴⁻²² liu²⁴/
  - IPA (Taipei): /un⁴⁴⁻³³ liu²⁴/
  - IPA (Quanzhou): /un³³ liu²⁴/
- (Hokkien: Zhangzhou, Kaohsiung)
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī: un-jiû
  - Tâi-lô: un-jiû
  - Phofsit Daibuun: unjiuu
  - IPA (Zhangzhou): /un⁴⁴⁻²² d͡ziu¹³/
  - IPA (Kaohsiung): /un⁴⁴⁻³³ ziu²³/

Adjective

溫柔

(of a person, especially a woman) loving; gentle; sweet
放鬆，別怕，我會很溫柔的。 [MSC, trad.]
放松，别怕，我会很温柔的。 [MSC, simp.]
Fàngsōng, bié pà, wǒ huì hěn wēnróu de. [Pinyin]
Relax. Don't be afraid. I will be gentle.

Synonyms

(loving):

平和
平易 (píngyì)
惠 (huì) (literary, or in compounds)
柔和 (róuhé) (also of sound, voice, colour, lighting, etc.)
柔弱 (róuruò)
柔順 / 柔顺 (róushùn)
溫和 / 温和
溫存 / 温存 (wēncún)

Antonyms

(antonym(s) of “loving”): 粗暴 (cūbào)

Derived terms

溫柔敦厚 / 温柔敦厚
溫柔鄉 / 温柔乡
腼腆溫柔

Descendants

Sino-Xenic (溫柔):

→ Japanese: 温(おん)柔(じゅう) (onjū)
→ Korean: 온유(溫柔) (onyu)

References

“溫柔”, in 教育部臺灣台語常用詞辭典 [Dictionary of Frequently-Used Taiwanese Taigi] (overall work in Mandarin and Hokkien), Ministry of Education, R.O.C., 2025.