滑らか

1. Origins, structure, and basic meaning

• Structure: 滑らか is a na-adjective read なめらか for a surface without roughness or a process without awkward interruption.
• Basic usage: It covers both physical smoothness, such as texture, and figurative smoothness in how something proceeds.
  • この布は手触りがとても滑らかです。 describes the fabric's texture; 司会者の進行が滑らかで、会議は予定どおり終わりました。 describes the moderator's smooth handling of the meeting.

2. Common pitfalls and similar expressions

• 滑らかな and 滑らかです
  • Add な before a noun, as in 滑らかな動き, and use 滑らかです when ending a polite predicate.
• Connective 滑らかで
  • で in 滑らかで links the smooth manner to the following result; it is not a past-tense marker.
• 滑らか and 滑りやすい
  • 滑らか means smooth in texture or flow, while 滑りやすい means easy to slip on. They do not make the same claim about safety.