Emaki · all 1,500 words

本気

ほんき

seriousness

Mnemonic

The root a thing grows from with the steam rising off a person, so what is actually down there underneath all of it. Hone ほん and keen き, both. He is not joking this time: ほんき.

Worth knowing

本気で is seriously, and 本気? on its own is are you serious.

Built from

origin, book
木 tree + 一 one line, at the root
spirit, energy
Steam rising off something. The old form had rice giving off vapour.

Words sharing these kanji

Japanese language book Japan truth, reality the person in question really, truly real thing, genuine article originally, essentially today energetic, healthy feeling, sensation spirit, temperament

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Emaki is not affiliated with, or endorsed by, Kaishi 1.5k or its authors. The word, reading and meaning come from the Kaishi 1.5k deck, used with their permission. The mnemonic, the note and the kanji breakdown are original work, published under CC BY-SA 4.0.