King's Kung-Fu& Tai Chi

Japanese symbol for “motivation”

Romaji: iyoku
will; desire; eagerness; interest

In Japanese, motivation is , read (iyoku).

Before using these characters for a tattoo, check them with a native speaker. Dictionary words often have several meanings, and the right choice depends on context.

Meanings

  1. n will; desire; eagerness; interest; drive; motivation

Written forms: . Readings: .

Kanji and stroke order

idea, mind, heart
on: イ
13 strokes · JLPT 3
longing, covetousness, greed
on: ヨク
kun: ほっ.する、ほ.しい
11 strokes · JLPT 2

Other Japanese words for “motivation”

WordReadingMeaning
き kiintention; mind; will
きあい kiai(fighting) spirit; motivation; effort
やるき yarukiwill (to do something); drive; motivation
しげき shigekiimpetus; impulse; stimulus
モチ mochimotivation

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

WordReadingMeaning
いみ imimeaning; significance; sense
ちゅうい chuuiattention; notice; heed
いしき ishikiconsciousness
いけん ikenopinion; view; comment
ようい youipreparation; arrangements; provision
とくい tokuisatisfaction; pride; triumph
ほしい hoshiiwanting (to have); desiring; wishing for
よっきゅう yokkyuudesire; want; will

See also: Chinese symbol for “motivation”.

Data: JMdict (CC BY-SA 4.0); KANJIDIC2 (CC BY-SA 4.0); KanjiVG (CC BY-SA 3.0); wordfreq (CC BY-SA 4.0 (data)). Retrieved 2026-10-22.

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