Words are complex things, which naturally won’t always match up on a 1:1 basis with words in another language. A good example of this is 元気 genki, one of the first words a student of Japanese encounters, so I thought I’d write about this term. Essentially, the word means healthy and energetic, and also describes a sort of “baseline” state of happiness. The first greeting you usually learn in Japanese is often お元気ですか？ o-genki desu ka? which corresponds to “How are you?” (although it can be more accurately translated as “Are you fine?”). The reply is はい、元気ですhai, genki desu (Yes, I am fine). Some other situations where the word might be used include to describe a child with lots of energy, running around a room; to describe an elderly person who is still active and healthy; and when trying to cheer someone by saying 元気を出して genki o dashite, “Show me your happy smile.” In another context, a man becoming “genki” can refer to a common phenomenon that happens to us in the morning.
Incidentally, every red-haired anime girl ever is defined as “genki.”
