What does “kimochi” mean in Japanese?
Native speakers say “kimochi” to mean ‘feeling’, ‘mind’, ‘heart’, or such in Japanese. Perhaps, some Japanese learners know this word well because it is quite often used in Japanese movies, songs, anime, manga, and the like. 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 “kimochi” more clearly. Then, let’s get started!
Contents
Definition and meanings of “kimochi”
Let me start with the definition and meanings of “kimochi”.
- kimochi – 気持ち (きもち) : a noun meaning ‘feeling’, ‘mind’, ‘heart’, or such in Japanese. This can also work as a plural noun. Learn more about Japanese plural.
Native speakers use this noun to refer to someone’s feeling, mind, heart, or such in Japanese. So, its usage is very similar to those of the English nouns.
The definition and meanings are not that difficult. To understand this noun more clearly, however, let me explain its kanji characters in detail.
“Kimochi” in kanji
The kanji expression of “kimochi” contains the following two characters:
- 気 : a kanji character widely used to mean ‘feeling’, ‘mind’, ‘heart’, ‘mood’, ‘air’, ‘atmosphere’, or such in Japanese.
- 持 : a kanji character often used to express the act of having.
From these two kanji characters, we can understand that “kimochi” in kanji literally expresses a feeling which someone has in his/her mind. This literal interpretation seems to be completely in line with the meanings.
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 “kimochi” through the detailed check above.
Then, let me explain how to use “kimochi” through the example sentences below.
Example #1: how to say “feelings” in Japanese
kanojo wa watashi no kimochi wo shira nai – 彼女は私の気持ちを知らない (かのじょはわたしのきもちをしらない)
She doesn’t know my feelings.
Below are the new words used in the example sentence.
- kanojo – 彼女 (かのじょ) : a pronoun meaning ‘she’ in Japanese.
- wa – は : a binding particle working as a case marker or topic marker. In the example, this works after “kanojo” to make the subject in the 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.
- wo – を : a case particle used to make the object word in a sentence. In the example, this is used after the noun phrase, “watashi no kimochi”, to make the object in the sentence.
- shira – 知ら (しら) : one conjugation of the verb, “shiru”, which means ‘to know’ in Japanese. In the example, it has been conjugated for the better connection with its following word.
- nai – ない : an auxiliary verb used after a verb, adjective, or auxiliary verb to deny its meaning. In the example, this is used after “shira” to deny its meaning.
This is a typical usage of “kimochi”. In this example, it works together with the possessive case, “watashi no”, to say “my feelings” in Japanese. Native speakers sometimes use this combination, so it’s worth knowing.
Example #2: how to say “feel bad” in Japanese
「kimochi warui」to kare ga it ta – 「気持ち悪い」と彼が言った (「きもちわるい」とかれがいった)
“I’m feeling bad,” he said.
Below are the new words used in the example sentence.
- warui – 悪い (わるい) : an i-adjective meaning ‘bad’ in Japanese.
- to – と : a case particle working as a quote marker. In the example, this works after the clause, “kimochi wauri”, to indicate what “kare” said.
- kare – 彼 (かれ) : a pronoun meaning ‘he’ in Japanese.
- ga – が : a case particle used to make the subject word or the object word in a sentence. In the example, this is used after “kare” to make the subject in the sentence.
- it – 言っ (いっ) : one conjugation of the verb, “iu”, which means ‘to say’, ‘to tell’, or such 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. In the example, this is used after “it” to make its past tense form.
This is another typical usage of “kimochi”. In this example, it works together with the i-adjective, “warui”. The formed phrase is widely used to mean ‘to feel bad’ in Japanese, so it’s worth knowing.
Native speakers, especially the young, often use the colloquial version of “kimochi wauri”: “kimoi”. They use it on texting apps and in daily conversations. So, knowing this short version would be helpful to understand what they say in the casual situations.
Summary
In this blog post, I’ve explained the definition and meanings of “kimochi” 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.
- kimochi – 気持ち (きもち) : a noun meaning ‘feeling’, ‘mind’, ‘heart’, or such in Japanese. This can also work as a plural noun. These two kanji characters literally mean a feeling which someone has in his/her mind. So, what the kanji express is completely in line with the meanings.
- kimochi warui – 気持ち悪い (きもちわるい) : a commonly-used phrase meaning ‘to feel bad’ in Japanese. This should be learnt together with the colloquial version, “kimoi”. The young often use this shortened version in casual situations.
Hope my explanations are understandable and helpful for Japanese learners.
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