テンション

テ

ン

ショ

ン

Common wordJLPTN1Freq.FrequencyTop 10,000

Meanings

1

noun

energy level; excitement; spirits; mood

colloquial

Casual Japanese use, especially in phrases such as テンションが高い, テンションが低い, and テンションが上がる. It often means excitement or mood, not English-like mental strain.

今日きょうはテンションが高たかいね。

You're really energetic today.

朝あさからテンションが上あがらない。

I just can't get excited this morning.

2

noun

tension; tensile force

physics

Technical physics use for force or tautness in a rope, wire, material, etc.; 張力 is the clearer native technical term.

Usage patterns

テンションが高たかいto be in high spirits / very energetic
みんなお祭まつりでテンションが高たかかった。
Everyone was in high spirits at the festival.
テンションが低ひくいto be in low spirits / lacking energy
朝あさは眠ねむくてテンションが低ひくい。
I'm sleepy in the morning, so I have low energy.
テンションを上あげるto hype oneself up; to boost one's own energy
試し合あい前まえに音おん楽がくを聴きいてテンションを上あげた。
I listened to music before the game to hype myself up.
テンションが下さがるone's mood/energy drops
雨あめが降ふるとテンションが下さがる。
My mood drops when it rains.

Expressions

テンションが上あがるget excited; get hyped up; get in a good mood

Related words

気き分ぶんN4sense 1
気分 is the general, neutral word for mood or feeling, while テンション is casual slang that usually points specifically to energy or excitement level.
張ちょう力りょく sense 2
張力 is the standard technical Japanese term for tensile force, whereas テンション in this sense is a looser, less formal borrowing from English.
緊きん張ちょうN4sense 3
緊張 is the ordinary Japanese word for nervous strain or tension, while テンション in this rare sense is an English-influenced usage that most speakers would replace with 緊張.
乗のりN2sense 1
ノリ describes the vibe or momentum of a group or moment, while テンション focuses on an individual's own energy or excitement level.
不ふ安あんN3sense 3
不安 means anxiety or unease, close to テンション's rare mental-strain sense, though 不安 emphasizes worry rather than physical tautness.

Word family

テンション構こう造ぞう
tension structure
ハイテンション
excited; hyped; enthusiastic · high-tensile · high-voltage; high-tension
ローテンション
low spirits; lack of enthusiasm; unmotivated · low voltage; low tension (electrical)
テンションピープル
tense race of people (i.e. the Japanese)

Etymology

No language-of-origin details are specified. The katakana form is conventionally associated with the English-looking form “tension,” but modern Japanese commonly uses it colloquially for energy or excitement as well as technically for physical tension.