# thin



## Pacerier

Hi all, if we want to describe someone as thin, would it be better to use the adjective 細い or 薄い?


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## fitter.happier

Hello 

I think if you want to describe someone as being thin, you're better off using the verb やせる。　　

彼女はやせている。 She is thin.

細い and 薄い make me think of adjectives you'd use when describing objects rather than people, but please wait for a native.


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## Pot-Bouille

"Hosoi" might be the word you're looking for. 

Incidentally, Japanese natives either tell me that I'm "hosoi" or that I'm "yaseta".
What I get out of it is that "hosoi" is a compliment, while "yaseta" is not. 
You hear things like : yaseta yatsu : a skinny dude
                                yaseta inu : a bony dog


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## Arui Kashiwagi

As fitter.happier says, やせている is the best. However 細い is also often spoken.
薄い means the opposite of "thick" and is usually applied to a paper-like object (or beards etc.), thus it's not acceptable in this case.



Pot-Bouille said:


> "
> What I get out of it is that "hosoi" is a compliment, while "yaseta" is not.



Not really. Both can be used as a compliment or a put-down. It just depends on the tone of the voice. You'll see women's magazines are full of advertisements like "あなたもこれでやせる!" (You can get thin by this method!).


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## Pot-Bouille

Arui Kashiwagi said:


> It just depends on the tone of the voice. You'll see women's magazines are full of advertisements like "あなたもこれでやせる!".


I see. In my experience, I've only heard "hosoi!!" with an admirative tone of voice--always from women. The "yaseta" I've heard were usually from older women and men, who wanted me to eat more.  

One question though: 
I read Japanese women's magazines quite regularly, and I only seem to see "yaseru" in texts related to *losing weight* or *the result* of a diet. For example: 
yasete kirei ni naritai. I want to lose weight and be beautiful. 
yasete kirei ni natta. She lost weight and became beautiful.
As opposed to people who are* thin in the first place:
*Yui-san ha hosokute kireidesu.  Yui is thin and beautiful.

Is there something to that or am I misled?


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## Juuuergen

What about スマート? Isn't that a way to say thin?


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## Arui Kashiwagi

Pot-Bouille said:


> The "yaseta" I've heard were usually from older women and men, who wanted me to eat more.


Yep, I have a feeling that grandmothers in the world are always thinking their young grandchildren have to eat much more 



Pot-Bouille said:


> One question though:
> I read Japanese women's magazines quite regularly, and I only seem to see "_yaseru_" in texts related to *losing weight* or *the result* of a diet.


Well, this is just my opinion and I'm not sure, but if "_yaseru_" is more natural than saying "_hosoku naru_" when you're talking about an action & its result, it would be just because "_yaseru_" is already a verb. And because "_hosoi_" is an adjective, it's little more common for describing a current impression.

Anyway, the difference of them is trivial (at least, to me). Among men, saying "やせている子の方が好きだ" and saying "細い子の方が好きだ" are both common and make no difference.


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## Arui Kashiwagi

Juuuergen said:


> What about スマート? Isn't that a way to say thin?


Yes, "スマート" is another choice. This word is derived from the English word "smart", as you know, but somehow it usually indicates a physical smartness in Japanese. Thanks to a smartphone this tradition seems to be gradually changing today 

"スリム"(slim) and "スレンダー"(slender) are also often heard. And these three English-origin terms are always used in a good sense.


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## Pacerier

Heys thanks all for the help =) Btw does it mean that スマート is definitely "complimentary" ?

Also, I was wondering what may be a colloquial way of saying "thin", like say what may be the opposite of デブ?


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## Arui Kashiwagi

Pacerier said:


> Heys thanks all for the help =) Btw does it mean that スマート is definitely "complimentary" ?


Yes. スマート, スリム & スレンダー are always compliments.



Pacerier said:


> Also, I was wondering what may be a colloquial way of saying "thin", like say what may be the opposite of デブ?



Hm, are you looking for some curses?  What I've come up with so far are... (All are nouns or adjectival nouns)

*やせっぽち*
Perhaps less offensive compared to the other words, but an insult is an insult.

*がりがり*
An onomatopoeia which represents "bony/skinny".
The short form "ガリ" is often used as the opposite of デブ.

*ひょろひょろ*
Another onomatopoeia which describes something "gangly/spindly".
Modern young people sometimes turn it into an adjective and say "ヒョロい" (quite a bad tongue, I think).


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## Pacerier

Hey cool that's what I'm looking for =D


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