素直 (sunao) means frank, receptive, or straightforward. 素直な人 can be open about feelings and receptive to advice; the word can also mean obedient in the right context. 素直に謝る means apologizing without resistance or excuses. It can describe things such as hair that lies straight.
also sunao na / sunao ni / sunao ja nai
frank · unguarded · takes things as they come
Sentences
素直に ＋ 動詞
plain。
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素直に
すなおに ［1］
plainly; without making excuses
adverbial form · says you did it without resisting first
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謝った
あやまった
apologised
plain past of 謝る · godan, so the past is 謝った
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ほうがいい
ほうがいい
you'd be better off
set phrase · past tense before it, even about the future
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よ
よ
I'm telling you this
sentence particle · adds a nudge to advice
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You should just apologise and mean it.
素直な ＋ 名詞
polite。
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彼女
かのじょ ［1］
she; her
pronoun · also means girlfriend depending on context
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は
は
as for — the topic
particle · written は, read わ
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素直な
すなおな ［1］
good-natured; unguarded
な-adjective in front of a noun · never 素直の
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子
こ ［0］
kid; young person
noun · warmer and less formal than 子供
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です
です
(polite ending)
copula · the polite counterpart of だ
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She's a good-natured kid.
素直じゃない · the teasing
plain。
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素直じゃない
すなおじゃない
won't just say it
negative of 素直だ · teasing, not an accusation
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なあ
なあ
huh; isn't that so
sentence particle · a thought said half to yourself
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You're really not going to just admit it, are you.
素直に聞く · taking advice
plain past。
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先生
せんせい ［3］
teacher
noun · also the address term for doctors and lawyers
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の
の
links noun to noun
particle · A の B = B belonging to A
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アドバイス
アドバイス ［3］
advice
loanword noun · 助言 is the formal native equivalent
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を
を
marks the direct object
particle · pronounced お
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素直に
すなおに ［1］
at face value; without arguing
adverbial form · here it means you did not push back
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聞いた
きいた
listened to it
plain past of 聞く · also 'asked', depending on the particles
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I took my teacher's advice at face value.
素直に ＋ 形容詞
plain。
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素直に
すなおに ［1］
plainly; with no reservations
adverbial form modifying an adjective · rules out any 'but'
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嬉しい
うれしい ［3］
happy; glad
い-adjective · about a specific occasion, not a mood
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I'm just plain happy about it.
素直な気持ち
polite。
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素直な
すなおな ［1］
honest; unedited
な-adjective · the feeling before you talked yourself out of it
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気持ち
きもち ［0］
feeling
noun · an emotional state; 気分 is closer to mood
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を
を
marks the direct object
particle · pronounced お
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伝えたい
つたえたい
want to convey
たい-form of 伝える · desire, so it takes を or が
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です
です
(polite ending)
copula · politeness on a たい-form, which inflects like an い-adjective
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I want to tell you how I honestly feel.
Forms
素直な＋Noun
素直な子, 素直な性格, 素直な気持ち. な and never の — 素直の人 is simply wrong, though other two-kanji words do take の (普通の人, 本当の話).
素直に＋Verb
素直に謝る, 素直に聞く, 素直に喜ぶ. The adverb is the commoner half of the word: it says you did the thing without putting up a fight first.
Person ＋ は＋素直だ / 素直です
彼女は素直です. As a whole judgement of someone it is warm and slightly protective — the sort of thing said about a younger person.
素直＋じゃない / ではない
素直じゃないなあ. Almost never a real accusation — it is what you say to someone whose denial has just given them away.
Meaning
“Obedient” describes a person following orders, and puts somebody above them giving those orders. 素直 describes what a person does with incoming information: they take it in as it arrived instead of arguing with it first. A 素直な人 can disagree with you outright — what they will not do is pretend they did not hear.
The second half is being straight about yourself. 素直に嬉しい means plainly, uncomplicatedly glad — no “well, I suppose” attached. 素直な気持ち is what you actually feel, before the version you would be willing to say out loud. This is why it is a compliment: most people are not.
素直じゃない is affectionate teasing, not criticism. It is what you say when somebody insists they did not want the thing they obviously wanted. Japanese already has a label for the character type — ツンデレ, the word English borrowed — and 素直じゃない is the everyday phrase for the behaviour.
It also describes hair, and that is the clue to the whole word. 素直な髪 is hair that lies the way it is put — no kink, no fighting back. Same for a golf swing or a piece of wood. The core sense is not moral at all: it is a material that does not resist being handled.
Inside the word
The character is plain white silk, cloth before anybody dyed it. It gives you 素顔 a bare face, 素材 raw material, 素足 bare feet, and 質素 plain living. Nothing has been added and nothing is covering it.
Ten eyes on a straight line, in the old graph. It carries both senses English splits — 正直 honest, 直接 direct, 直す to straighten or repair. Straight in shape and straight in dealing are one idea here.
Put the two together and you get a material that has not been altered and does not fight back — which is why 素直な髪, hair that falls where you put it, uses exactly the same word as 素直な人. English needs two unrelated adjectives for that; Japanese has one, and the person sense is the metaphor.
Watch out
Being called 素直 is a compliment about openness, not about compliance. The word for someone who does as they are told without thinking is 従順, and it is not warm. If a Japanese colleague calls you 素直, they mean you are easy to talk to.
な-adjective, so 素直な人. And note that the adverb is 素直に — 素直で exists but joins clauses (素直で優しい, open and kind) rather than modifying a verb.
It is warm but slightly downward-looking — the natural things to call 素直 are children, students and juniors. Said to your manager it reads as faintly patronising. 率直, frank, is the neutral word between adults.
Also asked
That a person takes things as they arrive — advice, criticism, praise, their own feelings — without bending them first. Not obedience: a 素直な人 can disagree with you flatly. What they will not do is deny they heard, or claim not to care when they do.
Yes, and a fairly big one. It is high on the list of things Japanese parents and teachers hope to be able to say about someone. It does read slightly downward, though, so it is natural about children and juniors and a little odd aimed upward.
That your denial gave you away. It is teasing, said fondly, to someone who has just claimed not to want something they obviously want. The character type English fandom calls tsundere is described in Japanese with exactly this phrase.
正直 is about telling the truth to other people — it is the opposite of lying. 素直 is about not resisting, including not lying to yourself. You can be 正直 and still argue with every piece of advice you are given; that is not 素直.
Hair that behaves — no kink, falls where you style it. Same word, no metaphor involved: 素直 at root means a material that does not fight being handled. You will also see it about wood grain and about a golf swing.
すなお, with the drop after the first mora — す high, then なお low. The 素 here is the す reading, the same one in 素足 and 素顔.
References
Kotobank: 素直 — Defines plain, unpretentious, receptive and straight-form senses.
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