意欲
Meaning in Englishwill, desire, ambition
Animated kanji stroke order
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Word context
What it means
意欲 means a strong internal drive to act or pursue goals; it signifies a proactive willingness and determination that fuels action, capturing the mental state of wanting to achieve something and committing energy toward it.
Main meanings
- strong motivation or drive to act toward a goal
- willingness to take on tasks or challenges
- enthusiastic interest or eagerness to pursue a particular activity
How to use it
Used in formal writing and everyday language to describe inner motivation or willingness to act; common in academic, corporate, and self-improvement contexts; often paired with verbs and adjectives such as 持つ, 高める, 高い, and expressions like 意欲を持つ, 意欲を高める; appropriate in professional or neutral tones.
Variants and close terms
- 熱意 (netsui) — enthusiasm
- 動機 (dōki) — motive
- 意志 (ishi) — will
- 野心 (yashin) — ambition
Composition
- 意 means mind, intention
- 欲 means desire, craving
- when combined they express the mind's desire to act, i.e., motivation or drive
Etymology
意 mind or intention; 欲 desire; their combination forms a Sino-Japanese compound whose pronunciation in Japanese uses on'yomi to yield iyoku, with historical ties to Chinese yì yù phonology.
Word class
noun (名詞, 漢語由来の合成語)