柔らかい
やわらかい · yawarakai · JLPT N4 · i-adj
soft
🧸 yawarakai: ya-WA-ra sounds like a soft wah — a cushiony, yielding word
柔 is the kanji for gentle/yielding, the same one in 柔道 (judo = the gentle way). So 柔らかい is literally the yielding quality: soft to the touch, tender when chewed. The -かい ending marks it as an i-adjective.