元気 (genki) means energy, liveliness, or being well. 元気な人 is a lively or healthy person, and お元気ですか asks whether someone is well. 元気がない can mean low energy or feeling unwell. For specifically medical health, 健康 or 体調 can be more precise.
forms genki na / お元気ですか / 元気がない
energy · spirits · in good form · well
Sentences
6 sentences, word by word
〜は元気 · the plain verdict
polite
。
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子供
こども ［0］
child; children
noun · no plural marking, so context decides the number
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は
は
as for — the topic
particle · written は, read わ
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いつも
いつも ［1］
always
adverb · habitual, and it needs no particle
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元気
げんき ［1］
full of energy; lively
な-adjective · about their vigour, not their health
元気N5energy; being well
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です
です
is — polite
copula · な-adjectives take です with no な
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The children are always full of energy.
元気な ＋ 名詞 · describing liveliness
polite
。
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彼女
かのじょ ［1］
she; her
pronoun · also means girlfriend when it stands with は or が
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は
は
as for — the topic
particle · written は, read わ
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元気な
げんきな ［1］
bright; lively
attributive form · な-adjectives take な in front of a noun
元気N5元気な ＋ noun
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声
こえ ［1］
voice
noun · the sound a person makes; 音 is any other sound
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を
を
marks the direct object
particle · pronounced お
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しています
しています
has — polite, ongoing
ている form of する · 〜をしている describes a permanent trait
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She has a bright, cheerful voice.
元気がない · the one that means down
plain
。
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今日
きょう ［1］
today
noun used adverbially · time words need no particle
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は
は
as for — the topic
particle · written は, read わ
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少し
すこし ［2］
a little
adverb · softens the observation
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元気
げんき ［1］
energy; spirits
noun here, not an adjective · 元気がない is 'the energy isn't there'
元気N5元気がない = down, not ill
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が
が
marks the subject
particle · what the sentence is about — with 好き, 分かる and potentials, the object
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ない
ない ［1］
isn't there
plain negative of ある · what is missing is the energy
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ね
ね
isn't that so — inviting agreement
particle · turns an observation into a gentle one
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You seem a bit down today.
元気を出して · cheer up
plain
、。
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ほら
ほら
hey; come on
interjection · calls attention, warmly rather than sharply
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元気
げんき ［1］
energy; spirits
noun · the thing being put out, so it takes を
元気N5元気を出す = cheer up
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出して
だして
put out — て-form
て-form of 出す · a soft request; 元気を出して with を dropped in speech
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Come on, cheer up.
元気になる · recovering
plain past
。
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おじいちゃん
おじいちゃん
grandpa
noun · the affectionate word; おじいさん is the neutral one
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は
は
as for — the topic
particle · written は, read わ
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元気
げんき ［1］
well; back to himself
な-adjective · になる makes it the change rather than the state
元気N5元気になる = recover
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に
に
to; at; into
particle · a point something reaches — a place, a time, a person, or a state
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なった
なった
became
plain past of なる · the change-of-state verb
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よ
よ
telling you something new
particle · delivers the news rather than just stating it
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Grandpa's back on his feet.
お元気ですか · the long-absence greeting
polite
。？
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お久しぶり
おひさしぶり
it's been a while
set phrase · marks a real gap since you last met
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です
です
is — polite
copula · makes the set phrase polite
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お元気
おげんき
well — honorific
お ＋ 元気 · the お is respect for the listener, not for the energy
元気N5お元気ですか = after a long gap
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です
です
are — polite
copula · the polite frame this greeting always keeps
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か
か
question marker
particle · closes the question
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It's been a long time — how have you been?
Forms
What forms does 元気 take?
Noun ＋ は/が＋元気
The plain verdict: 子供は元気です. Past 元気でした, negative 元気じゃない. A bare 元気？ is the casual how are you between people who are close.
元気な＋Noun
元気な子, 元気な声, 元気なおじいさん. It can describe liveliness or, for a person, being well.
元気＋がない
Down, flat, not oneself. 元気 behaves like a countable quantity here — there is some, or there isn't — which is why が and not は.
元気＋を出す
元気出して is cheer up; 元気になる is to recover. The noun side of 元気 is what makes both of these possible.
Meaning
元気 vs 健康 vs 気分
元気 is the energy visible in someone. A child tearing around the garden is 元気; so is a bright voice on the phone and an eighty-year-old who still cycles. It says nothing about blood pressure, which is why glossing it as healthy misleads in both directions.
健康 is the medical word.健康な食事 a healthy diet, 健康診断 a check-up. You can be 健康 and flat on the sofa with no 元気 at all, and the reverse — running on adrenaline while thoroughly unwell — is just as sayable.
気分 is the mood, and it moves.気分がいい is feeling good right now; 元気 is a standing level rather than today's weather. Someone can be 元気 in general and in a foul 気分 this afternoon.
お元気ですか is for distance, not for daily use. It asks after a stretch of time you have not seen someone, and it is standard at the top of a letter. To a colleague you saw yesterday it implies you expected them to be unwell. The everyday openers are お疲れ様です at work and a bare 元気？ among friends.
Inside the word
元 ＋ 気 — the original energy
元 — げん・もと · origin, source
The character shows a person with the head marked — the top, the beginning, the source. It is the 元 of 元日 New Year's Day and 元祖 the original founder. In 元気 it means the energy you started with.
気 — き · air, spirit, mind
The old character drew steam rising off cooking rice. It became the word for breath, then air, then the invisible stuff a person is animated by — the same 気 as in 気持ち, 気分, 気になる and Chinese qi. Japanese runs a large part of its emotional vocabulary through this one character.
げんき — accent ［1］
High on げ and low from there. The honorific お元気 keeps the drop in the same place, with the お low in front of it. A rising bare 元気？ is the casual greeting; the same word flat is a statement that someone is fine.
Watch out
Where 元気 goes wrong
Asking お元気ですか every morning
It is the textbook's chapter-one greeting and it is not a daily one. Asked of someone you see regularly it suggests you thought they might be unwell. Use お疲れ様です at work, おはようございます in the morning, or a plain 元気？ with friends.
Translating it as healthy
元気 is energy and spirit; 健康 is health. 健康な食事 is a healthy diet and 元気な食事 is not a phrase. If you mean a medical condition, 元気 is the wrong word.
Hearing 元気がない as “is ill”
It means down, flat, not oneself — the standard way to say someone seems off today. Illness is 具合が悪い or 体調が悪い. Reading the two as the same thing turns a small kindness into an alarming question.
Also asked
Questions people ask about 元気
What does 元気 (genki) mean?
Energy, spirit, liveliness — the vigour visible in a person. It stretches to voices, children and greetings, and it can also describe someone in good health, which is why the usual gloss healthy causes trouble. 健康 is the medical word.
Is お元気ですか the normal way to say “how are you”?
No — it is for someone you have not seen in a long while, or the top of a letter. Daily Japanese does not open with a health question at all: work uses お疲れ様です, friends use a bare 元気？, and much of the time there is simply a greeting and no question.
What does 元気がない mean?
Down, flat, not one's usual self. 元気 is being treated as a quantity here — there is some or there isn't — so it takes が. It can reflect mood, energy, or physical condition; context matters.
How do I say “cheer up” in Japanese?
元気出して — literally put your energy out, with the を usually dropped in speech. It is gentler than it looks. 頑張って is a different message: that one asks for effort, and to someone already flat it can land badly.
元気 or 気分 or 健康?
元気 is a standing level of energy, 気分 is today's mood and moves hour to hour, and 健康 is medical health. Someone can be 元気 in general and in a terrible 気分 this afternoon.
How is 元気 read, and what is the pitch?
げんき, accent ［1］ — high on the first mora, low after it. お元気 keeps the same fall with the honorific お sitting low in front. A rising 元気？ asks; a level one tells.
References
Sources and usage notes
Digital Daijisen, 元気 — Explicitly includes good physical condition and the greeting お元気ですか.
