Some kanji go together like peanut butter and jelly. Where you find one, you also find the other. For instance, 意 (I: will, heart, mind, thought, meaning, sense) frequently pairs off with 気, 地, and 得 inside compounds and expressions. In other words, 意 seems to be quite the trigamist.

In and of itself, 意気 (iki) means “spirit,” “disposition,” and “morale.” With a sample sentence from Jim Breen’s online dictionary, we can try to make sense of this abstract word:

鈴木さん、その意気ですよ。
Suzuki-san, sono iki desu yo.
That’s the spirit, Mr. Suzuki.

If Mr. Suzuki is indeed in the right spirit, we might say the following about him:

意気に燃える (iki ni moeru: to be fired up with enthusiasm for accomplishing something)
     spirit (1st 2 chars.) + to burn, to get fired up

He’s on fire! A more literal translation is that his spirit is burning. But that sounds dangerous or counterproductive, as it could lead to burnout. So let’s just see him as burning with enthusiasm.

意気込み (ikigomi: ardor; enthusiasm)
     spirit (1st 2 chars.) + to drive inward

The spirit has entered him. He’ll soon be speaking in tongues!

意気揚々 (ikiyōyō: triumphant, exultant, in high and
proud spirits)     spirit (1st 2 chars.) + to be in high spirits

If his spirits were low before, saying ikiyōyō will certainly boost his morale.

Here’s another word that’s fun to say (if a bit tricky):

心意気 (kokoroiki: disposition, spirit, sentiment)
     heart + spirit (last 2 chars.)

Each kanji here refers to the mind, heart, and spirit. What a powerful combination of characters!

The only thing that could make Mr. Suzuki even happier at this point is finding a kindred spirit. If that happened, he might use this word:

意気投合 (ikitōgō: to hit it off with (a person); to find a kindred spirit; mutual understanding)
     spirit (1st 2 chars.) + agreement (last 2 chars.)

The last two kanji, 投合, break down as to join + to fit. Although 投 can mean “to throw,” it has quite a few other meanings, as well.

意 + 地

When 意 bonds with 地, we find ourselves with some very negative concepts. The word 意地 (iji: disposition, spirit, willpower, obstinacy, backbone, appetite, mind + state of one’s emotions) itself can have a negative nuance.

For a Note on the Meaning of 地….

Mr. Suzuki is having such a nice day that I hate to think that anything could go awry for him. So as we explore negative words related to 意 and 地, let’s imagine that they apply to someone else—maybe a wicked king. Breen offers this sample sentence:

昔、イングランドにたいへん意地の悪い王様が住んでいた。
Mukashi, Ingurando ni taihen iji no warui ōsama ga sunde ita.
Once there lived a very wicked king in England.

For a Breakdown of the Kanji …

As if wickedness weren’t enough, look at the malevolent compounds 意 and 地 help to form:

意地悪い (ijiwarui: ill-tempered, crabby)
     disposition (1st 2 chars.) + bad

Oh, that ill-tempered king better keep away from Mr. Suzuki!

意地汚い (ijikitanai: greedy, gluttonous)
     appetite (1st 2 chars.) + dirty

Here, the appetite (yet another meaning of 意地) is dirty!

意固地 (ikoji: perversity)
     feelings + to harden + state of emotions

In this case, 意 and 地 slide apart, allowing 固 to come between them. And to what ill effect!

Fortunately, if we reintroduce 気 into the mix, we return to a positive word:

意気地 (ikuji or ikiji: self-respect, self-confidence, guts,
backbone)     spirit (1st 2 chars.) + state of one’s emotions

We can negate this word in a flash, ending up with a coward on our hands:

意気地なし (ikujinashi: coward; timid creature)

Life is such a roller coaster!

意 + 得

Finally, 意 often pairs off with 得, especially in one word with scads of meanings:

得意 (tokui: triumph; prosperity; pride; one’s strong point; one’s forte; frequent customer)     to attain one’s goal + mind

For Sample Sentences with
得意 as “Strong Point”…

The character 得 (TOKU, e(ru)) means “to get,” “to acquire,” and “to gain.” Knowing that helps us interpret the next expression:

意を得ない (i o enai: to fail to make sense (of))
     meaning + to get (neg.)

This is quite similar to the expression “I don’t get it.”

However, knowing the meaning of 得 is less helpful with this expression:

我が意を得たり (wagai o etari: That’s just what I thought)
     intent (1st 2 chars.) + to get

On the Meaning of 我が意を得たり …

The characters 得 and 意 also appear in this archaic but fun expression:

得意淡然 (tokui-tanzen: not letting oneself get puffed up by success)
     triumph (1st 2 chars.) + fleeting + sort of thing

On Fire and Water …

Poor old Mr. Suzuki. Somehow I hear this admonishment as being directed at him. Well, we’ll leave the guy feeling good about himself. Here’s a compound that surrounds 意 with two of its most faithful companions:

得意気 (tokuige: proud; elated)
     pride (1st 2 chars.) + spirit

Maybe you’ll feel 得意気 after completing today’s Verbal Logic Quiz. I hope so!

For the Verbal Logic Quiz …