noun
Only when written 生き · Only with reading いき
Nominal or compound use referring to the state of being alive, often contrasted with 死に as in 生き死に.
Antonyms: 死に
これは人の生き死にに関わる問題だ。
This is a matter involving people's life and death.
noun
freshness; liveliness; vitality
Only when written 生き / 活き · Only with reading いき
Used for something fresh, vigorous, or full of life; 活き often highlights this vivid or fresh quality.
このアジはまだ活きがいい。
This horse mackerel is still very fresh.
活きのいい若手がチームに入ってきた。
A lively young member has joined the team.
noun
life of a Go group; uncapturable group
Only when written 生き · Only with reading いき
Go term for stones that cannot be captured, typically because the group has two or more eyes.
黒は二眼を作って生きになった。
Black made two eyes and became alive.
noun
stet; leave as is
Only with reading イキ
Proofreading and editing notation meaning that a proposed deletion or correction should be canceled and the original text left unchanged; usually written イキ.
校正者はその修正に「イキ」と書いた。
The proofreader wrote “stet” on that correction.
prefix
Only when written 生き · Only with reading いき
Rare, limited prefix-like use with a cursing or strongly derogatory force, mostly in fixed or old-fashioned expressions rather than productive modern usage.
「生き畜生」のような語では、生きがののしりの調子を強める。
In words like 生き畜生, 生き strengthens the abusive tone.
生き is the noun or stem form associated with 生きる, “to live.” 活き is an alternate spelling used by convention to emphasize freshness or vitality; the proofreading イキ is a specialized katakana notation.