元気
Meaning in Englishhealthy, energetic, well
Animated kanji stroke order
Related sentences
Word context
What it means
What does 元気 (genki) mean? It denotes a condition of vitality or spiritedness—an internal reserve of physical and mental energy that supports activity, alertness, resilience and a lively temperament, used as a lexical label for someone's overall energetic state.
Main meanings
- 1. A concise, stand‑alone reply meaning someone is doing well or feeling fine.
- 2. A description of cheerfulness or upbeat temperament distinct from clinical health.
- 3. A marker of stamina, robustness, or quick recovery after illness or exertion.
- 4. A figurative use applied to places, performances, plants or teams to mean lively or full of vigor.
How to use it
Appears across registers: common in spoken language, pop culture and advertising to signal health or liveliness; used with politeness or honorifics in more formal contexts, in compound words and product names in written texts, and as an attributive adjective or nominal description in conversations, media and health reporting.
Variants and close terms
- 健康 (kenkō) — health, healthy
- 活気 (kakki) — vigor, bustling energy
- 元気いっぱい (genki ippai) — full of energy
- 病気 (byōki) — illness (antonym)
Composition
- 元 (gen) — origin, source, base; suggests the foundational or original aspect of something.
- 気 (ki) — spirit, air, energy, mood; denotes invisible force or atmosphere.
- Together the characters form the idea of an underlying life‑force or spirit that makes someone energetic and well.
Origin
The concept and characters trace back to the classical Chinese term 元氣 (yuánqì) used in medicine and philosophy; the compound entered Japanese via Sino‑Japanese readings and was incorporated into literature and medical vocabulary before becoming widespread in everyday speech during the early modern to modern periods.
Word class
na-adjective and noun (な形容動詞, 名詞)