いきがい (ikigai) Meaning Japanese Grammar - The Reason of Life

いきがい (ikigai) is more than an expression in Japanese; it represents a deep concept and philosophy and can be translated in one word asjoy of living and it expresses our reason of life, our motivation in all what we chose and do.

I have included this expression in the grammar section because, as we will see, its structure is used in other commonly used forms in Japanese.

Translation and Origin of Ikigai

The kanji transcription of Ikigai in Japanese is 生(い)き甲(が)斐(い):

• 生(い)き iki from the verb 生(い)きる ikiru in its dictionary form, meaning live;
• 甲(が)斐(い) is a term used as noun and suffix and means effect, result, worth, avail.

Ikigai can be translated as worth living, thejoy and tension of living and it is grammatically a noun, so it can be followed by particles.

Akihiro Hasegawa, physicist and engineer, wrote that the term kai / gai comes from the word 貝(かい) kai meaning shell in Japanese.

During the Heian period (794 to 1185), shells had great value, hence the importance and value they were given.

According to other scholars the term Ikigai has originated in the Edo period (1603-1868). At that time, people were required to live with different values and attitudes in order to find meaning in life.

Ikigai, a motivation in life, a purpose in life, a reason for living.

One of the phrases to define the concept of Ikigai in Japanese:

Ikigai is a central theme of many courses and seminars on personal growth and motivation.

かいがある it is worthy to

Kai / gai ga aru is an expression of common use in Japanese that shows the value of an action, it expresses the feeling that it was good to do something or it is worth doing.

Use 1:

The expression using the structure we have learnt is: 頑(がん)張(ば)りがいがある: ganbarigai ga aru, it's worth putting in the effort; it's motivating.

• 働(はたら)きがい which means the work motivation, the job satisfaction and the sense of fulfillment in work;
• やり甲(が)斐(い)がある, meaning it’s worth doing it.

Use 2:

Synonyms of this structure are:

• て form of the Verb + 良(よ)かった: I'm glad I did it,
• する価(か)値(ち)がある: it's worth doing.

Use 3 with a noun:

Ikigai concerns many aspects of our lives that are worthwhile: our work, our mission, the things and people we love, our profession, the things we are particularly good at.

Examples using the word いきがい

The lack of Ikigai often expresses a sense of discouragement and weariness in a person's life.

As we have expressed in this post, Ikigai covers various aspects of life, according to a person's values.

We can also use the expression giving life meaning : ‘What gives meaning to his life is earning money.’

Ikigai worldwide

Many books have been published in Japanese, in English, translated and distributed worldwide. And the development of this concept has found supporters as well as writers opposed to the pursuit of Ikigai in life.

Words related to Ikigai

Here is a video for all those who study the Japanese language; it talks about Ikigai as a philosophy that has also been popularised outside Japan.

It analyses the representative terms that represent the reason for life and are different depending on the sensitivity of the person.

https://youtu.be/wQ8e9zTFrUA

• 好(す)き: what we love
• ミッション: mission
• 世(せ)界(かい)が必(ひつ)要(よう): what the World needs
• 仕(し)事(ごと): job, vocation
• お金(かね)に出(で)来(き)る: what you can be paid for
• プロ: profession
• 得(とく)意(い): one's strong point, what we are good at
• 情(じょう)熱(ねつ): passion