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懸命 (けんめい) Japanese meaning | Kotomora

懸けん命めい

け

ん

め

い

Common wordFreq.FrequencyTop 20,000

Meanings

1

na-adjective, noun

eager; earnest; with utmost effort

Describes doing something with all one's might, often in a desperate or single-minded way. Most frequently used as 懸命に + verb.

彼かれは懸けん命めいに走はしった。
He ran with all his might.
懸けん命めいの努ど力りょくが

実みの

っ

た

。

Their desperate efforts paid off.

Written forms

懸けん命めいUsage95%
Standard kanji spelling; commonly used in the adverbial form 懸命に.
けんめいUsage5%
ケンメイUsage<1%

Kanji

懸state of suspension, hang, depend
命fate, command, decree

Similar words

必ひっ死し
必死 implies a life-or-death desperation, while 懸命 focuses on earnest, wholehearted effort without necessarily implying mortal danger.
一いっ生しょう懸けん命めい
一生懸命 is a more common and slightly stronger synonym, literally 'as if one's life depended on it', while 懸命 is a bit more formal and often used in writing.

Etymology

From Middle Chinese-derived elements 懸 (hang, risk) and 命 (life), originally meaning to risk one's life. The modern sense of earnest effort developed from this idea of putting everything on the line.