What is “yaruki” in Japanese?
Native speakers often say “yaruki” to mean ‘motivation’ in Japanese. Honestly speaking, the imported word, “mochibēshon”, is very understandable and acceptable in today’s Japanese conversations. In this blog post, however, I will focus on the Japanese word and explain it in detail based on its components. And also, I will explain how to use it through example sentences. My explanations would help Japanese learners to understand “yaruki” more clearly. Then, let’s get started!
Contents
Definition and meanings of “yaruki”
Let me start with the definition and meanings of “yaruki”.
- yaruki – やる気 (やるき) : a noun meaning ‘motivation’ in Japanese. Depending on the situation and context, this can also mean ‘willingness’ or ‘eagerness’.
This word has several meanings, but its concept is always the same: wanting to do something. To understand this word more clearly, let me explain its components in detail, one by one.
Components of “yaruki”
“Yaruki” consists of the following two parts:
- yaru – やる : a verb meaning ‘to do’, ‘to perform’, ‘to play’, ‘to try’, or ‘to conduct’ in Japanese. Its meaning can vary depending on the context, situation, and other words used together.
- ki – 気 (き) : a noun meaning ‘mind’, ‘feeling’, ‘will’, or ‘spirit’ in Japanese. This kanji can also be found in other words like “bouki“, “honki“, and “heiki“.
In the Japanese language, a verb in plain form can work like a modifier to describe its following noun. From these two components, therefore, we can understand that “yaruki” literally means ‘a will to do something’. This concept seems to be in line with the meanings of “yaruki”, I think.
When we meet new Japanese words, we should check their components in detail to understand their meanings clearly and deeply. In many cases, components tell us a lot about meanings of words they form. Actually, here, we could get the better understanding of “yaruki” through the detailed check above. Then, let me explain how to use it through the example sentences below.
Example #1: how to say “I have motivation” in Japanese
watashi wa yaruki ga aru – 私はやる気がある (わたしはやるきがある)
I have motivation.
Below are the new words used in the example sentence.
- watashi – 私 (わたし) : a pronoun meaning ‘I’ in Japanese.
- wa – は : a binding particle working as a case marker or topic marker. In the example, this works after “watashi” to put a focus on it.
- ga – が : a case particle used to make the subject word or the object word in a sentence. In the example, this works after “yaruki” to make the subject word in the sentence.
- aru – ある : a verb meaning ‘to be’ or ‘to exist’ in Japanese. In most cases, this works to express the existence of a thing. In the example, this is used to express the existence of motivation.
This is a typical usage of “yaruki”. In this example, it works as a part of the commonly-used expression, “yaruki ga aru”, which means ‘to have motivation’ or ‘to be motivated’ in Japanese. When we want to say “motivation” in Japanese, it is the best choice.
Example #2: another usage of “yaruki”
kare wa yaruki ga nai to it te iru – 彼はやる気がないと言っている (かれはやるきがないといっている)
He is saying he doesn’t have motivation.
Below are the new words used in the example sentence.
- kare – 彼 (かれ) : a pronoun meaning ‘he’ in Japanese.
- nai – ない : an i-adjective used to deny the existence of a thing. In the example, this works to deny the existence of motivation.
- to – と : a case particle working as a quote marker. In the example, this works as a quote marker after the clause, “yaruki ga nai”.
- it – 言っ (いっ) : one conjugation of the verb, “iu”, which means ‘to say’ or ‘to tell’ in Japanese. In the example, it has been conjugated for the better connection with its following word.
- te – て : a conjunctive particle used after a verb, adjective, or auxiliary verb to make its te form. In the example, this works after the conjugated verb, “it”, to make its te form, “it te”. Verbs need to be changed to their te forms to be connected with “iru”.
- iru – いる : an auxiliary verb used to express the continuity of the action described by its preceding verb. So, this is the key to making present progressive forms in Japanese. In the example, this works after the te-formed verb, “it te”, to express the continuity of its action, “to say”.
This is another typical usage of “yaruki”. In this example, it works as a part of the commonly-used expression, “yaruki ga nai”, which means ‘not to have motivation’ or ‘not to be motivated’ in Japanese.
Summary
In this blog post, I’ve explained “yaruki” in detail based on its components. And also, I’ve explained how to use it through the example sentences. Let me summarize them as follows.
- yaruki – やる気 (やるき) : a noun meaning ‘motivation’ in Japanese. Depending on the situation and context, this can also mean ‘willingness’ or ‘eagerness’. The two components of this word, “yaru” and “ki”, literally mean ‘a will to do something’ in Japanese. This is the basic concept lying under the meanings.
- yaruki ga aru – やる気がある (やるきがある) : a Japanese expression for ‘to have motivation’ or ‘to be motivated’. Native speakers often use this. So, it’s worth knowing.
- yaruki ga nai – やる気がない (やるきがない) : a Japanese expression for ‘not to have motivation’ or ‘not to be motivated’. Native speakers often use this expression as well. So, it’s worth knowing.
Hope my explanations are understandable and helpful for Japanese learners.
Learn more vocabulary on the app!
You can improve your Japanese vocabulary with our flashcards.
