気負い
Meanings
1
eagerness; enthusiasm; fighting spirit
Describes a state of being mentally charged up, often with a competitive or determined edge. Can imply being overly keyed up or trying too hard, sometimes with a negative nuance of excessive zeal.
His pre-match eagerness backfired, and he couldn't perform to his ability.
It was a presentation that showed the enthusiasm typical of a newcomer.
Usage patterns
- 〈人〉に気負いがあるsomeone has a keyed-up, eager tension
You could sense the tense eagerness in his play.
- 気負いを見せるto show signs of being overly fired up
The rookie showed obvious tension and eagerness from the very first game.
- 気負いなくwithout excessive tension or eagerness, calmly
He approached the match calmly, without any nervous over-eagerness.
- 気負いが先に立つone's eagerness gets ahead of one (and hinders performance)
His nervous eagerness got the better of him, and he couldn't perform at his usual level.