Copyright © 2026 Kotomora. All Rights Reserved.
本腰 (ほんごし) Japanese meaning | Kotomora
Report an issue with this page
ば
。
I need to get serious about studying soon.
He got down to business and tackled the work.
Usage patterns 〈 事こと 〉 に 本ほん 腰ごし を 入い れる to put serious effort into (a task)
He finally got down to serious work.
本ほん 腰ごし になる to become serious, get down to business
As the exam approached, everyone got serious.
本ほん 腰ごし を 入い れて 〈 動どう 詞し 〉 to do something in earnest, putting real effort into it
She started studying in earnest.
Expressions 本ほん 腰ごし を 入い れる to set about in earnest; to put one's back into; to make a strenuous effort Related words 本気 is a general word for seriousness that can be used as an adjective (本気で), while 本腰 specifically evokes physically bracing oneself for effort and is mainly used with 入れる or になる.
真剣 describes an earnest, focused attitude (often 真剣に〜する), whereas 本腰 emphasizes the moment of shifting from a casual approach to committed effort.
Etymology Compound of 本 (ほん, 'main' or 'true') and 腰 (こし, 'hips' or 'lower back'). The image is of bracing one's hips to apply full physical effort, which extended to mean putting serious effort into any task.