This article kind of feels like a "place, Japan" type of article not going to lie. "There is no other word like this in any other language." Passion? Purpose?
"Vocation" is a synonym, though it is misrepresented by the Venn diagram at the bottom of the article
Looking up "vocation" in modern dictionaries just says that it's a career, but that is wrong. The real meaning is a "calling", or: something that brings good to the world, that you can do, that you enjoy doing, and that sustains your livelihood
I grew up around Lutheran communities who stressed what a gift a vocation is because it isn't something that most people can reach. But we shouldn't stop looking for ours
Vo-ca′tion (vō̍-kā′shŭn), noun [L. vocatio a bidding, invitation, fr. vocare to call, fr. vox, vocis, voice: cf. F. vocation. See Vocal.]
1. A call; a summons; a citation; especially, a designation or appointment to a particular state, business, or profession.
2. Destined or appropriate employment; calling; occupation; trade; business; profession.
3. (Theol.) A calling by the will of God. Specifically: –
(a) The bestowment of God’s distinguishing grace upon a person or nation, by which that person or nation is put in the way of salvation; as, the vocation of the Jews under the old dispensation, and of the Gentiles under the gospel.
(b) A call to special religious work, as to the ministry.
Not a Japanese person, but the way this has been explained to me feels slightly broader than the concept of vocation.
The explanation was more along the lines of, "what gives your life meaning, joy, and purpose, and makes you motivated to get out of bed every morning and venture out into the world to do your thing and contribute to the world around you".
So your vocation might be teaching more generally but your ikigai might be teaching that one class of delinquent kids nobody likes, and striving to make them succeed, for example? But maybe I'm wrong.
That is the part that makes it different. "Ikigai" isn't bound to an occupation or work, where "vocation" has to be.
I'm also not sure it needs to have a positive connotation ("brings good to the world"), making people's lives a nightmare can be your reason and pleasure to live. That's of course not the PR piece's point of view, I agree with the other comments on how bad that Venn diagram is at the end.
I went to a Lutheran school that did a mini camp for finding vocation.
However when interacting the job market, I realized early on in my career that the modern economy leaves little room for exploring just that. Those I've observed bucking that trend I would more describe as "following their curiosity" - because usually, some good comes of it, even if you're not sure where it leads.
Which dictionaries are they? I've never seen that. Here's the entry from the Cambridge Dictionary:
a type of work that you feel you are suited to doing and to which you should give all your time and energy, or the feeling that a type of work suits you in this way:
I feel I've found/missed my true vocation.
Most teachers regard their profession as a vocation, not just a job.
To work in medicine, you should have a vocation for it.
I like to think of words having two layers of meaning: The first is closer to what we think of as The Meaning and is an extrinsic referent, such as a physical item, some cultural custom, or an emotion or feeling. The second layer is nuance, i.e. the cloud of homonymic overtones, cultural and historical associations, and habitual usages that color the first meaning.
The second layer controls things like formality register (e.g. business languages vs. informal vernacular), mood, jokes, and all the elements of communication that go beyond just base information transfer.
In my experience when translating between languages, it's virtually impossible to capture the subtleties of the second layer of meaning. You always have to make some concessions, pertinent to the intent and goals of the communication at hand. E.g. translating a joke in a business exchange will often choose different translations for the same words used in a more brass-tacks context.
Anyway, all that is to say that, sure, "passion" or "purpose" are perfectly fine translations of ikigai (生き甲斐), but they simultaneously connote very different things. Passion invokes images of strong emotions, beliefs, or some fire under the feet. Purpose potentially conjures ideas of necessity or philosophical meaning. None of these things are really suggested by the Japanese word.
More generally, the the "gai" suffix (甲斐) is used on verbs to mean something like "to be worth doing" or "to have been worth doing". In particular, it's often used to refer to the particular result or effect that makes the thing worth doing. In the case of "ikigai", we combine it with "iki", from the verb "to live" (生きる), which gives us something like "the thing that makes life worth living".
The main feeling difference between "ikigai" and "purpose" or "passion", IMHO, is that the Japanese is light, personal, and something that doesn't need significance beyond personal enjoyment, pleasure, or values.
There's a weird fascination in much of the Western world with Japan.
We see posts talking about Japan on the first page of HN quite regularly.
I am myself somewhat fascinated with Japan as I grew up with many Japanese descendants (their parents were "real" japanese, I am from Brazil and most of them came to Brazil in the 50's, so my friends born in the 70's and 80's were still first generation brazilians) and have been there to visit them once.... but I find it odd that there's no such fascination with most other countries.
I suspect it's because Japan is both very different culturally, but very similar in level of development, so it's "easier" to like them instead of think of them as inferiors (which was how the West seemed to see them before the Great Wars, from what I read).
I have to wonder who is upvoting this promotional material. Has this reconstructed ikigai concept not burnt through social media already, or will we have to see it resurge every few years?
But summing up their "profound discovery" in a single sentence wouldn't give them the opportunity to write a 200 page bloviated soft-serve yogurt treatise on the guaranteed secrets to true happiness.
I disagree. As the other comments have stated, umami and savory are completely different words. I agree that kawaii and cute are synonyms, but I only see it being used in vaguely japanese-related contexts, where it's not necessary but also not in any way a misuse, similar to how "hors d'oeuvre" is used in place of "appetizer".
People using "umami" in English is a big pet peeve of mine. It's so damn pretentious. "Savory" covers the meaning more than adequately and has existed in the language for a long time. There's no reason for the foreign loan word except to try to sound super smart.
Minor49er|1 year ago
Looking up "vocation" in modern dictionaries just says that it's a career, but that is wrong. The real meaning is a "calling", or: something that brings good to the world, that you can do, that you enjoy doing, and that sustains your livelihood
I grew up around Lutheran communities who stressed what a gift a vocation is because it isn't something that most people can reach. But we shouldn't stop looking for ours
SatvikBeri|1 year ago
Vo-ca′tion (vō̍-kā′shŭn), noun [L. vocatio a bidding, invitation, fr. vocare to call, fr. vox, vocis, voice: cf. F. vocation. See Vocal.]
1. A call; a summons; a citation; especially, a designation or appointment to a particular state, business, or profession.
2. Destined or appropriate employment; calling; occupation; trade; business; profession.
3. (Theol.) A calling by the will of God. Specifically: –
(a) The bestowment of God’s distinguishing grace upon a person or nation, by which that person or nation is put in the way of salvation; as, the vocation of the Jews under the old dispensation, and of the Gentiles under the gospel.
(b) A call to special religious work, as to the ministry.
tpoacher|1 year ago
The explanation was more along the lines of, "what gives your life meaning, joy, and purpose, and makes you motivated to get out of bed every morning and venture out into the world to do your thing and contribute to the world around you".
So your vocation might be teaching more generally but your ikigai might be teaching that one class of delinquent kids nobody likes, and striving to make them succeed, for example? But maybe I'm wrong.
Also, the venn diagram at the bottom is lacking the most important information, what the 'curved triangles' represent. There's a better one here: https://i0.wp.com/marieskelton.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/0... (ironically taken from another article like the one linked here. https://marieskelton.com/finding-your-passion-and-purpose/ )
makeitdouble|1 year ago
That is the part that makes it different. "Ikigai" isn't bound to an occupation or work, where "vocation" has to be.
I'm also not sure it needs to have a positive connotation ("brings good to the world"), making people's lives a nightmare can be your reason and pleasure to live. That's of course not the PR piece's point of view, I agree with the other comments on how bad that Venn diagram is at the end.
yen223|1 year ago
wnc3141|1 year ago
However when interacting the job market, I realized early on in my career that the modern economy leaves little room for exploring just that. Those I've observed bucking that trend I would more describe as "following their curiosity" - because usually, some good comes of it, even if you're not sure where it leads.
ninalanyon|1 year ago
a type of work that you feel you are suited to doing and to which you should give all your time and energy, or the feeling that a type of work suits you in this way:
I feel I've found/missed my true vocation.
Most teachers regard their profession as a vocation, not just a job.
To work in medicine, you should have a vocation for it.
Synonym calling formal
Compare career noun
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/vocation
volemo|1 year ago
MarkSweep|1 year ago
https://jisho.org/search/%E7%94%9F%E3%81%8D%E7%94%B2%E6%96%9...
Besides the examples you mention, the French phrase “raison d'être” is commonly used in English well.
xelxebar|1 year ago
The second layer controls things like formality register (e.g. business languages vs. informal vernacular), mood, jokes, and all the elements of communication that go beyond just base information transfer.
In my experience when translating between languages, it's virtually impossible to capture the subtleties of the second layer of meaning. You always have to make some concessions, pertinent to the intent and goals of the communication at hand. E.g. translating a joke in a business exchange will often choose different translations for the same words used in a more brass-tacks context.
Anyway, all that is to say that, sure, "passion" or "purpose" are perfectly fine translations of ikigai (生き甲斐), but they simultaneously connote very different things. Passion invokes images of strong emotions, beliefs, or some fire under the feet. Purpose potentially conjures ideas of necessity or philosophical meaning. None of these things are really suggested by the Japanese word.
More generally, the the "gai" suffix (甲斐) is used on verbs to mean something like "to be worth doing" or "to have been worth doing". In particular, it's often used to refer to the particular result or effect that makes the thing worth doing. In the case of "ikigai", we combine it with "iki", from the verb "to live" (生きる), which gives us something like "the thing that makes life worth living".
The main feeling difference between "ikigai" and "purpose" or "passion", IMHO, is that the Japanese is light, personal, and something that doesn't need significance beyond personal enjoyment, pleasure, or values.
</2cents>
trinix912|1 year ago
Honestly, I find it weird to have this posted here. It's just a classic "Welcome to ____" site for attracting tourists.
brabel|1 year ago
I am myself somewhat fascinated with Japan as I grew up with many Japanese descendants (their parents were "real" japanese, I am from Brazil and most of them came to Brazil in the 50's, so my friends born in the 70's and 80's were still first generation brazilians) and have been there to visit them once.... but I find it odd that there's no such fascination with most other countries.
I suspect it's because Japan is both very different culturally, but very similar in level of development, so it's "easier" to like them instead of think of them as inferiors (which was how the West seemed to see them before the Great Wars, from what I read).
creamyhorror|1 year ago
vunderba|1 year ago
asdasdsddd|1 year ago
hatthew|1 year ago
bigstrat2003|1 year ago
musicale|1 year ago
"Taste receptors in the mouth sense the five basic tastes: sweetness, sourness, saltiness, bitterness, and savoriness (also known as savory or umami)"
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taste#Basic_tastes
fildevtronic|1 year ago
m463|1 year ago