穏 means “calm, gentle, quiet”

おだやか · odayaka

Also: moderation

Kun'yomi (Japanese reading)

おだやか

On'yomi (Chinese reading)

オン

JLPT N1 · Taught in secondary school · 16 strokes

The story

Rice (禾) beside two hands (爫 and ヨ) cupped over a heart (心): picture a full harvest and a heart at ease. 穏やか is calm, like a still sea or a mild person, 平穏 is peace and quiet, and 不穏 is the uneasy air before trouble.

Used in 穏やか (odayaka, calm/gentle), 平穏 (heion, peace and quiet), and 不穏 (fuon, unrest/ominous)

More from Rest & Unrest

• 粛 solemn
• 鎮 calm
• 寧 polite
• 憩 rest
• 睡 sleep
• 悠 leisurely
• 閑 quiet
• 醒 awaken
• 緊 tense
• 緩 loose
• 騒 make noise
• 妥 compromise

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Readings from KANJIDIC2, © EDRDG, CC BY-SA.