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Did you get it? “The 気 (KI) to Succes” as in… Ok. We know we’re not funny. It is true, however. In order to master a language, studying is the major key to success. This is why we will follow this lead and study some more Japanese sayings. Today’s topic is (who would have guessed) the kanji 気.
This small very simple letter can be used in all kinds of different situations to express nearly everything one wants to say if put into the right context.
The Kanji 気 (ki; sometimes also pronounced ke) basically means feeling, mood or spirit (but also gas or air). One of the words it appears in is the very popular 元気 (genki), as in GenkiJACS. Yet, the number and variety of words 気 is commonly used with are enormous. Here are a few more examples:
気持ち (kimochi) = feeling
病気 (byouki) = sickness
景気 (keiki) = condition, state
空気 (kuuki) = air
雰囲気 (fun’iki) = atmosphere
天気 (tenki) = weather
湯気 (yuge) = steam
電気 (denki) = electricity
(By the way, do not mix up the words 空気 and 雰囲気. It might lead to the embarrassing and confusing moment when you tell your colleagues or teachers that you like your company because the “air is so nice”.)
When you’ve mastered some of the most important 気 vocabulary (hah), you’ve already got the easy part covered. However, one cannot survive a Japanese conversation without knowing at least the most important phrases that contain this word. This can be very difficult and complicated at times as they are all very similar and can therefore easily get you confused. Here are some examples:
気に入る (ki ni hairu) → “sth. gets into one’s spirit” = to like something.
気になる (ki ni naru) → “sth. becomes one’s mood” = to be on one’s mind, to be curious about something
気にする (ki ni suru) → “sth. is done to one’s spirit” = to be troubled or worried about something
気に触る (ki ni sawaru) → “sth. touches one’s mood” = to get on one’s nerves
気のせい (ki no sei) → “it’s one’s mind’s fault” = it is just imagination
気のない (ki no nai) → “without soul” = being indifferent or half-hearted