What does “byouki” mean in Japanese?
Native speakers say “byouki” to mean ‘illness’, ‘sickness’, or such in Japanese. Perhaps, some Japanese learners know this word as it is sometimes used in Japanese conversations. In this blog post, however, I will explain this word in detail based on its kanji expression. And also, I will explain how to use it through example sentences. My explanations would help Japanese learners to understand “byouki” more clearly. Then, let’s get started!
Contents
Definition and meanings of “byouki”
Let me start with the definition and meanings of “byouki”.
- byouki – 病気 (びょうき) : a noun meaning ‘illness’, ‘sickness’, or ‘disease’ in Japanese.
Native speakers use this noun to refer to the state of being ill, sick, or unhealthy. They sometimes use this even to mean ‘ill’, ‘sick’, or ‘unhealthy’. So, this Japanese noun somehow works more flexibly than the English ones do.
The definition and meanings are not so difficult, I think. To understand this noun more clearly, however, let me explain its kanji characters in detail, one by one.
Byouki in kanji
The kanji expression of “byouki” consists of the following two characters:
- 病 : a kanji character widely used in Japanese words related to disease, sickness, or illness.
- 気 : a kanji character widely used to mean mind, spirit, heart, or feeling. This kanji can also be found in other words like “heiki“, “yaruki“, “yūki“, and “tenki“.
From these two kanji characters, we can understand that “byouki” literally means ‘disease and mind’ in Japanese. This literal interpretation is not completely in line with the meanings, but still very close, I think. Probably, it implies a diseased mind affecting whole-body health.
When we meet new kanji expressions, we should check their kanji characters in detail to understand their meanings clearly and deeply. In many cases, kanji characters tell us a lot about meanings of words they form. Actually, here, we could get the better understanding of “byouki” through the detailed kanji check above. Then, let me explain how to use it through the example sentences below.
Example #1: how to say “sick” in Japanese
kare wa byouki ni nat ta – 彼は病気になった (かれはびょうきになった)
He became sick.
Below are the new words used in the example sentence.
- kare – 彼 (かれ) : a pronoun meaning ‘he’ in Japanese.
- wa – は : a binding particle working as a case marker or topic marker. In the example, this works after “kare” to make the subject word in the sentence.
- ni – に : a case particle used to say what state or condition someone is in after a change or action. In the example, this is used after “byouki” to indicate the particular condition in which “kare” is.
- nat – なっ : one conjugation of the verb, “naru”, which means ‘to become’, ‘to get’, or ‘to turn’ in Japanese. In the example, it has been conjugated for the better connection with its following word.
- ta – た : an auxiliary verb used after a verb, adjective, or auxiliary verb to make its past tense form. Probably, this is well known as a part of Japanese ta form. In the example, this is used after “nat” to make its past tense form, “nat ta”.
This is a typical usage of “byouki”. In this example, it works as a part of the commonly-used expression, “byouki ni nat ta”, which means ‘to have become sick’ in Japanese. This expression should be learnt together with its present tense form, “byouki ni naru”. When we want to refer to the state of being sick or ill in Japanese, anyway, this noun is a very good option.
Example #2: another usage of “byouki”
boku wa byouki desu – 僕は病気です (ぼくはびょうきです)
I’m sick.
Below are the new words used in the example sentence.
- boku – 僕 (ぼく) : a pronoun meaning ‘I’ in Japanese. This is used mainly by boys and young males.
- wa – は : the same as explained in the last example. In this example, this works after “boku” to make the subject word in the sentence.
- desu – です : an auxiliary verb used after a noun or adjective to make it polite. Probably, this is well known as a part of Japanese desu form. In the example, this is used after “byouki” to make it sound polite.
This is another typical usage of “byouki”. In this example, it works more like an adjective and means ‘sick’. We can easily understand its meaning and role from the sentence, as “boku” cannot be sickness itself.
Summary
In this blog post, I’ve explained the definition and meanings of “byouki” in detail based on its kanji expression. And also, I’ve explained how to use it through the example sentences. Let me summarize them as follows.
- byouki – 病気 (びょうき) : a noun meaning ‘illness’, ‘sickness’, or ‘disease’ in Japanese. Japanese native speakers use this noun to refer to the state of being ill, sick, or unhealthy. They sometimes use this even to mean ‘ill’, ‘sick’, or ‘unhealthy’. So, this Japanese noun somehow works more flexibly than the English ones do. These two kanji characters literally mean ‘disease and mind’. This literal interpretation is not completely in line with the meanings, but still very close, I think. Probably, it implies a diseased mind affecting whole-body health.
Hope my explanations are understandable and helpful for Japanese learners.
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