大切な

taisetsu na

adjective★Beginner— important

general

Important, valuable, or precious (physically or emotionally)

家族は大切な人々です

Family are important people

大切な思い出を守りましょう

Let's preserve precious memories

💡

Often used for both tangible and intangible things that are cherished

Collocations

to handle carefully

precious time

大切な can describe both emotional value (like family) and practical importance (like documents). Context usually makes the distinction clear.

大切な is the adjectival form. The noun form is 大切 (taisetsu), and the verb form is 大切にする (taisetsu ni suru).

From 大 (big/important) + 切 (cutting/essential) + な (adjectival suffix)

Can refer to both physical importance and emotional value. Often used in both formal and informal contexts.

大

big/important

root

切

cutting/essential

root

な

adjectival suffix

suffix

和英辞典