気持ち (kimochi) means a feeling, sensation, or state of mind. It can describe emotion and bodily experience: 気持ちいい means pleasant, while 気持ち悪い can mean unpleasant or nauseating. 気分 overlaps but often focuses on a general mood or condition.
forms kimochi ii / kimochi warui / きもい
feeling · sensation · how one feels
Sentences
6 sentences, word by word
気持ちいい · the physical sense
plain
。
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風
かぜ ［0］
wind; breeze
noun · the same characters as 風邪 a cold, but read かぜ either way
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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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気持ちいい
きもちいい
feels lovely
気持ち ＋ いい · the compound has no accent entry, so no number is printed
気持ちN4気持ちいい = feels good
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ね
ね
isn't it — shared reaction
particle · invites the listener to agree
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The wind feels lovely.
気持ち悪い · gross, or queasy
plain past
。
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バス
バス
bus
noun · katakana loan from English
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で
で
in; at — where it happens
particle · where the action happens, or the manner it happens in
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気持ち悪く
きもちわるく
unwell; queasy
adverbial form of 気持ち悪い · く before なる, as every い-adjective does
気持ちN4気持ち悪い = gross OR queasy
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なった
なった
became
plain past of なる · the change into that state
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I started feeling sick on the bus.
気持ちが分かる · I know how you feel
plain
。
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君
きみ ［0］
you; your
pronoun · warm, and not for a superior
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の
の
links noun to noun
particle · A の B = B belonging to A
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気持ち
きもち ［0］
feelings
noun · the emotional sense, as the object of 分かる
気持ちN4the feeling itself
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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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よく
よく
well; clearly
adverbial form of いい · intensifies 分かる
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分かる
わかる ［2］
understand
verb · takes が for what is understood, not を
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よ
よ
I'm telling you
particle · offers it as reassurance
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I know exactly how you feel.
気持ちを伝える · putting it into words
polite
。
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彼女
かのじょ ［1］
her
pronoun · also girlfriend, and here probably both
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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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気持ち
きもち ［0］
feelings
noun · what is being conveyed, so it takes を
気持ちN4気持ちを伝える = convey feelings
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を
を
marks the direct object
particle · pronounced お
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伝えたい
つたえたい
want to convey
たい form of 伝える · desire, and necessarily the speaker's own
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です
です
polite ending
copula · たい forms take です to become polite
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I want to tell her how I feel.
気持ちが変わる · changing your mind
plain past
。
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途中
とちゅう ［0］
partway; along the way
noun · 途 road ＋ 中 middle, so literally mid-journey
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で
で
in; at — where it happens
particle · where the action happens, or the manner it happens in
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気持ち
きもち ［0］
feelings
noun · the thing that changed, so が marks it
気持ちN4気持ちが変わる = change your mind
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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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変わった
かわった
changed
plain past of 変わる · intransitive, so the feeling changed on its own
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My feelings changed somewhere along the way.
きもい · the slang contraction
plain
。
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きもい
きもい
gross (slang)
contraction of 気持ち悪い · only the disgust sense, and genuinely rude
気持ちN4slang: きもい
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なんて
なんて
something like; the likes of
particle · quotes the word dismissively
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言う
いう ［0］
say
verb · the action being told off
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な
な
don't — blunt prohibition
particle · the plain negative command, and it is sharp
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Don't say “gross” — it's rude.
Forms
What forms does 気持ち take?
気持ち＋いい
Feels good. Past 気持ちよかった, negative 気持ちよくない — the いい inflects irregularly through よ, exactly as it does on its own.
気持ち＋悪い
Gross, or nauseous. 気持ち悪くなった means started feeling sick; pointed at a person it means creepy.
気持ちが＋verb / adjective
気持ちが分かる I know how you feel, 気持ちが変わった I changed my mind. The plain noun, doing ordinary noun work.
気持ちを＋verb
気持ちを伝える convey how you feel, 気持ちを込める put your heart into it. Here the feeling is something you handle deliberately.
Meaning
気持ち vs 気分 vs 心
気持ち is how something feels, and Japanese does not split that into body and heart. The same word covers the sensation of warm water and the feeling you have about a person, which is why 気持ちいい is at home in a hot spring and 気持ちを伝える is at home in a confession.
気分 is the mood you are in.気分がいい is being in good spirits; 気持ちがいい is something feeling pleasant to you. The difference shows most clearly in the bath: 気持ちいい is the water, 気分がいい is you afterwards.
心 is the heart, and it is bigger.心 is where character and conviction live — 心から from the heart, 心が広い broad-minded. 気持ち is a state passing through; 心 is the thing it passes through.
気持ち悪い is two sentences in one shape. Said of a thing it means disgusting; said of yourself it means you feel sick. 気持ち悪くなった is almost always nausea, and the slang きもい only ever carries the disgust — never the queasiness, and never kindly.
Inside the word
気 ＋ 持ち — what you are holding
気 — き · air, spirit
Steam off cooking rice in the oldest form, then breath, then the invisible animating stuff — Chinese qi. Japanese hangs an enormous amount of its inner vocabulary on it: 元気, 気分, 気になる, 気をつける, 人気.
持ち — も(ち) · holding
The stem of 持つ, to hold. So 気持ち is literally what your 気 is holding — the state you are carrying rather than the state you are in. The same 持ち gives 金持ち rich and 気持ちだけ, just the thought.
きもち — accent ［0］
Flat: low on き and high across もち, with no fall at the end — so a particle after it stays high. The compounds 気持ちいい and 気持ち悪い are not listed in the accent dictionary as entries of their own, so no number is printed for them here.
Watch out
Where 気持ち goes wrong
Saying 気持ちいい about a person
It describes a sensation, and pointed at a person it will be heard as being about physical pleasure. To say someone is pleasant to be around, 話しやすい or 優しい is what you want.
Using きもい at all, early on
It is the slang contraction of 気持ち悪い and it carries only the disgust — about a person it is a real insult, not a mild one. Learners pick it up from social media where it is everywhere and then use it somewhere it is not.
Mixing up 気持ち and 気分
気分 is the mood you are in; 気持ち is how a thing feels or what you feel about it. 気分が悪い is feeling unwell or offended; 気持ちが悪い is being grossed out. The two are not interchangeable and the swap is noticeable.
Also asked
Questions people ask about 気持ち
What does 気持ち (kimochi) mean?
The feeling — how something feels. Japanese does not split physical sensation from emotion here, so one word covers the warmth of a bath and what you feel about a person. Literally it is 気, spirit, plus 持ち, holding: what you are carrying.
What does 気持ちいい mean?
It feels good — physically first. A hot spring, a breeze, a stretch, a well-aired room. Note that said about a person it will be taken as being about physical pleasure, so it is not the phrase for someone being nice to be around.
Does 気持ち悪い mean “gross” or “I feel sick”?
Both, and context decides. About a thing it is disgusting; about yourself it is nauseous — 気持ち悪くなった is almost always queasiness. The slang きもい only carries the disgust, and it is rude.
気持ち or 気分 — what's the difference?
気分 is the mood you are in and it shifts hour by hour; 気持ち is how something feels or what you feel about it. In the bath, the water is 気持ちいい and you afterwards are 気分がいい.
What does きもい mean?
Gross, creepy. It is 気持ち悪い contracted, it keeps only the disgust half, and about a person it is a genuine insult rather than a mild complaint. Common among younger speakers and online; not something to reach for as a learner.
How is 気持ち read, and what is the pitch?
きもち, accent ［0］ — flat, with no drop at the end, so 気持ちが keeps the が high. 気持ちいい and 気持ち悪い have no entries of their own in the accent table, so this page prints no numbers for them.
References
Sources and usage notes
Digital Daijisen, 気持 — Defines emotional, mental, and bodily senses and compares 気分.
