気まま (きまま, kimama) Japanese meaning: willful

気まま (きまま, kimama) Japanese meaning: willful | Kotomora

Kanji

気spirit, mind, air
儘as it is, because
侭as it is, because

Related words· 6

わがままN3sense 1
わがまま is more strongly negative, implying selfish demands or tantrums, while 気まま can be neutral or even positive when describing a free lifestyle.
自じ由ゆうN4sense 2
自由 is a broader, more neutral term for freedom or liberty, while 気まま specifically carries the nuance of personal whim and self-indulgence.
勝かっ手てN3sense 1
勝手 emphasizes acting without regard for rules or others' convenience, while 気まま focuses on following one's own whims and moods.
自じ由ゆう奔ほん放ぽう sense 2
自由奔放 stresses an uninhibited, expansive spirit unconstrained by convention, while 気まま simply describes doing as one pleases day to day.

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気きの向むくままに
気まま describes a self-indulgent, do-as-one-likes personality or attitude, while 気の向くままに describes the spontaneous act of following a passing mood without any negative connotation.
恣し意い
気まま is a casual, everyday word for doing as one pleases with little negative weight, whereas 恣意 is formal and carries a critical tone about biased or unjust judgment.

Opposites

従じゅう順じゅん sense 1
従順 describes someone obedient and compliant, the opposite of the willful, self-centered behavior described by 気まま.

Don't confuse with

気きまぐれN2
気まぐれ describes capricious, unpredictable changes of mood, whereas 気まま describes a consistent tendency to act on one's own desires or preferences.

Word family

勝かっ手て気きまま
self-willed; doing as one pleases; inconsiderate
気きまま勝かっ手て
self-willed; doing as one pleases
気きまま放ほう題だい
selfishly as one pleases; willfully as one pleases
自じ由ゆう気

Written forms

気きままUsage80%
Standard modern spelling; the second kanji is usually written in kana.
気き儘ままUsage14%
rarely-used kanji form
Rarely used kanji form; the kyūjitai 儘 is uncommon in modern writing.
きままUsage5%
気き侭ままUsage1%

Etymology

Compound of 気 (ki, 'spirit, mind') and まま (mama, 'as is, at will'). The exact origin of まま is uncertain, but it conveys the idea of leaving things to one's own inclination.

気きまま

Meanings

Usage patterns