生き甲斐 – What does Ikigai mean?
Ikigai is another hard to translate Japanese word. If you want to translate it in as simple terms as possible, it could mean what someone lives for. Let’s take a closer look.
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Deconstructing the Word Ikigai
In Japanese, ikigai is written, 生き甲斐. This is a compound word which can be broken down as 生き + 甲斐.
- 生き – Live
- 甲斐 – Results, Effect
生き comes from the Japanese word to live, 生きる. This is pretty straight forward, but 甲斐 needs more explanation. 甲斐 can mean the results or effect from doing something. Usually it is used as a suffix or after a phrase to say something was worth doing in some way.
https://japaneseuniverse.com/2024/02/18/pac-man-in-japaneseconcepts-behind-development-to-global-icon/How to define Ikigai mean?
Not all dictionaries will define a word the same. So, I will provide a few translations. I personally like the definition from kotobank below.
生きているという実感
The feeling of being alive
But that is not the only translation. If we take a look at weblio.jp and translate it we get this.
生きるに値するもの。生きていく張り合いや喜び
Something worth living for. The tension and joy of living
Interesting. Basically we can simplifying the definition to what someone lives for. But, there are a few minor nuances. First we can understand living for something that brings joy and how that would be worth living for. What does tension mean though? That comes from another Japanese word, 張り合い which deserves it’s own explanation.
What does 張り合い mean?
張り合い can be translated as tension, competition, clashing, or any number of various words. Basically it is a word referring to a stance up against some kind of struggle. It comes from 張る which means is a verb meaning to be tense, strain, spread, or stretch. The 合い part of the word basically means to do something together. So, in the case of 生き甲斐 that would mean tension together with ones life, or activities one does for what they are living for.
So, what does 生き甲斐 mean then?
生き甲斐 can mean a number of things.
- Reason for living
- Purpose in Life
- Life’s Purpose
- Meaning of Life
This word can have different meaning for different people. Everyone may not define it the exact same way. This is expected though for any sort of broad common word. Especially if it has more personal philosophical undertones like 生き甲斐. Anyway, just remember that the meaning of ikigai or 生き甲斐 is something like what someone lives for.
if you want to learn more Japanese I reviewed a dictionary of grammar series which I personally recommend and use myself.
