What does “chikara” mean in Japanese?
Native speakers say “chikara” to mean ‘power’, ‘strength’, or ‘ability’ in Japanese. Perhaps, some Japanese learners know this word as it is often used in Japanese movies, songs, manga, anime, and the like. In this blog post, however, I will explain its definition and meanings as well as its usages through example sentences. My explanations would help Japanese learners to understand “chikara” more clearly. Then, let’s get started!
Contents
Definition and meanings of “chikara”
Let me start with the definition and meanings of “chikara”.
- chikara – 力 (ちから) : a noun meaning ‘power’, ‘strength’, or ‘ability’ in Japanese.
Native speakers use this noun to refer to something which a person has and utilizes to affect other people or things physically, mentally, or perhaps politically. So, the usage of this noun is similar to those of the English ones above, I think.
The definition and meanings are not that difficult. Then, let me explain how to use this noun through the example sentences below.
Example #1: how to say “power” in Japanese
watashi no kareshi wa totemo chikara ga aru – 私の彼氏はとても力がある (わたしのかれしはとてもちからがある)
My boyfriend has much power.
Below are the new words used in the example sentence.
- watashi – 私 (わたし) : a pronoun meaning ‘I’ in Japanese.
- no – の : a case particle used after a noun or pronoun to make its possessive case. In the example, this is used after “watashi” to make its possessive case, “watashi no“, which means ‘my’ in Japanese.
- kareshi – 彼氏 (かれし) : a noun meaning ‘boyfriend’ in Japanese.
- wa – は : a binding particle working as a case marker or topic marker. In the example, this works as a topic marker to put a focus on “watashi no kareshi”.
- totemo – とても : an adverb of degree meaning ‘much’, ‘very’, ‘so’, or such in Japanese.
- ga – が : a case particle used to make the subject word or the object word in a sentence. In the example, this works after “chikara” to make the subject word in the sentence.
- aru – ある : a verb meaning ‘to be’, ‘to exist’, or ‘to present’ in Japanese. In the example, this works to express the existence of the power.
This is a typical usage of “chikara”. When we want to say “power” in Japanese, this noun is a very good option. The Japanese sentence literally means ‘for my boyfriend, there is much power’, but can be translated as “my boyfriend has much power”. This sounds much more natural in English, I think.
Example #2: another usage of “chikara”
boku wa mada chikara ga nai – 僕はまだ力がない (ぼくはまだちからがない)
I still don’t have power.
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.
- mada – まだ : an adverb meaning ‘still’ or such in Japanese.
- nai – ない : an i-adjective meaning ‘not to be’, ‘not to exist’, or ‘not to present’ in Japanese. In the example, this works to deny the existence of the power.
This is another typical usage. “Chikara ga nai” used in this example is a commonly-used expression meaning ‘not to have power’ in Japanese.
Summary
In this blog post, I’ve explained the definition and meanings of “chikara” and how to use it through the example sentences. Let me summarize them as follows.
- chikara – 力 (ちから) : a noun meaning ‘power’, ‘strength’, or ‘ability’ in Japanese. Native speakers use this to refer to something which a person has and utilizes to affect other people or things physically, mentally, or perhaps politically. So, the usage of this noun is similar to those of the English ones above, I think.
Hope my explanations are understandable and helpful for Japanese learners.
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