YUTTA-RI ゆったり
Meanings
1. Describes having ample room or ease in space, time, mood, movement, or attitude.
2. Describes being calm and relaxed, free from pressure or constriction.
3. Describes something proceeding gently and unhurriedly over time.
Examples
Business-class seats are spacious and comfortable.
ビジネスクラスのシートはゆったりしていて快適だ。
Loose, roomy coats are fashionable this winter.
今年の冬はゆったりしたコートが流行だ。
I spent my day off relaxing over a glass of brandy.
休日はブランデーを飲みながらゆったりとくつろいで過ごした。
Watching the river flow slowly and gently makes me feel calm.
川がゆったりと流れているのを見ていると気分が落ち着く。
Dogmatic Opinion
YUTTA-RI is close to YUKKU-RI, but YUKKU-RI more strongly describes the action itself being slow.
YUTTA-RI is closer to the mental state of relaxed meditation with your eyes closed—or to a physical environment spacious enough to support that feeling.
Suppose you are standing completely alone in the middle of the Tokyo Dome field.
You have more physical space than you could possibly need, but you would probably feel strangely exposed rather than relaxed. So I would hesitate to call that YUTTA-RI.
There is an appropriate amount of space for comfort.
That is the common thread: not merely “large” or “slow,” but enough room—physical, temporal, or psychological—to feel at ease.
Proximate Expression
roomy
spacious
Behaving confidently /calmly/with plenty of leeway.
Related Words
For Japanese Learners
Spacious, roomy, comfortably loose, relaxed, leisurely, unhurried, and gentle may fit. Clothes can be loose and comfortable, seats or rooms spacious, time leisurely, and a mood relaxed. Compared with YUKKU-RI, YUTTA-RI emphasizes comfortable room and ease more than sheer slowness.
