気 (き)

I’ve been meaning to write about this word for a while now, as it just seems to be cropping up everywhere. What I find interesting about this word, is the different combinations you can make to give it a new meaning. So my word for today is 気 (ki).

The word ki on its own means “spirit, mind; air, atmosphere, mood”. You’ll often see it being used in the phrase お元気ですか (o genki desu ka), meaning “How are you?”. You’ll also find it in words such as 病気 (byouki: illness)、陽気 (youki: cheerful)、気持ち (kimochi:feelings)、気分 (kibun: mood), and many others.

What I’m interested in are expressions such as 気に入る (ki ni hairu)、気がする (ki ga suru)、気にする (ki ni suru) etc. So let’s have a look at a few of these.

気に入る (ki ni hairu): to be pleased with, to suit

気がする (ki ga suru): to have a certain mood or feeling, to have a hunch

気にする (ki ni suru): to mind (negative nuance), to care about, to worry

気がつく(ki ga tsuku): to notice, to become aware

気になる (ki ni naru): to be on one’s mind, to worry, to feel uneasy, to be anxious

気が合う (ki ga au): to get along with someone

気がある (ki ga aru): to have an interest in something, to feel inclined (towards doing something)

気を配る (ki wo kubaru): to pay attention, to be watchful

気がそがれる (ki ga sogareru): to be discouraged (from doing something), to have one’s enthusiasm dampened

気に食わない (ki ni kuwanai): unable to stomach

…and the list goes on! A lot of times, even if you may have never heard the expression used before, it’s simple to guess the meaning, like ki ni kuwanai. Others are a bit more obscure and you just kind of have to know them, like ki ni suru.

So here’s a little test ^ ^ Can you guess what 気が変わる (ki ga kawaru) means? Write your answers in the comments below! Also if you know anymore expressions with ki, please write those down as well!