本ほん能のう

ほ

ん

の

う

Common wordJLPTN1Freq.FrequencyTop 10,000

Meanings

noun, noun which may take the genitive case particle 'no'

Refers to innate, unlearned behavior or impulse in humans and animals. Often used in psychological, biological, and everyday contexts.

本ほん能のうで〈動どう詞し〉to do something by/on instinct
危き険けんを感かんじて、本ほん能のうで逃にげた。
Sensing danger, I fled on instinct.
本ほん能のうに従したがうto follow one's instinct
彼かれは本ほん能のうに従したがって行こう動どうすることが多おおい。
He often acts by following his instincts.
本ほん能のうが働はたらくfor instinct to kick in
母はは親おやの本ほん能のうが働はたらいて、子こ供どもを守まもった。
Her maternal instinct kicked in, and she protected her child.
本ほん能のうを抑おさえるto suppress an instinct
彼かれは食しょく欲よくの本ほん能のうを抑おさえるのに苦く労ろうしている。
He struggles to suppress his instinctive appetite.

直ちょっ感かんN1
直感 is a gut feeling or intuition often shaped by experience, whereas 本能 refers to innate, biologically hardwired impulses.
衝しょう動どうN1
衝動 is a sudden urge or impulse that may arise from many sources, while 本能 specifically denotes an underlying innate drive.
野や性せいN1
本能 refers to innate biological drives shared by all living things, while 野性 specifically emphasizes untamed, wild-animal-like instinct that can be lost through domestication or civilization.
習しゅう性せい
本能 is an innate instinct present from birth, while 習性 is a behavioral tendency that is often acquired or reinforced through habit.

理り性せいN1
理性 is rational, conscious thought, standing in contrast to 本能, the unlearned, instinctive drive.

才さい能のうN3
才能 means innate talent or skill, while 本能 refers to instinctive, unlearned behavior; both share the kanji 能 but describe very different things.

Probably coined by 西周 as a translation of English instinct and recorded in his 1873 生性発蘊. The compound denotes an inborn or fundamental capacity.