What does it mean in English?

What does '生き方' mean in English?

Hi, I'm sorry that this question seems so random and out of place. But I've been having some difficulty translating the phrase 'Way of Life' in to Japanese.

Firstly, does '生き方' actually mean 'Way of Life' in Japanese?
Secondly, does the phrase 'Way of Life' actually make sense in Japanese?

I would say yes to your questions.

I think it does make sense.

what is English definition of "way of life" ?

It is more like "how to live"

The English word "way" has a variety of senses. So does the Japanese word "方 (kata)."

"生き方" is used mainly to mean how a certain person / how persons of a certain group live(s) for a long span of time. This compound may be used for English phrases like "how Paul McCartney lives" "how Margaret Thatcher lived" and "how the Scottish people live" but a better expression may exist for each of the cases.

I suppose "way of life" can sometimes be used to focus on a short cycle of time, referring to a person's style of daily life, for example. "生き方" may sounds to be exaggerative if used here.

if you are familiar in Japanese, do you know the difference between 生活 and 人生 ? if we translate them in English, the two words are translated into the same word "life". But these Japanese words have completely different meanings.

Unfortunately I'm still not very familiar with Japanese as I've only recently started learning it... I asked this question because I'm trying to stop a friend from getting a meaningless Kanji tattoo!


Thank you for all your responses, so 生き方 means somebody's way of life? As in the way in which somebody lives?

I suppose it would be pretty pointless to get as a tattoo then?

生き方 means like this:
if you find a wallet on streets,
you honestly bring it to a police station, or you luckily make it to be yours.
which 生き方 do you like ?
生き方 generally does not mean everyday's living, eating, necessities, and so on.

生き方 is something like "how you live," "how you go about life," but in a quite practical or quite down-to-earth sense (it can range from like being diligent, being a penny-pincher, being honest with your spouse, etc. to being a farmer tied to the earth, being a salaried worker and doing everything that the company demands of you, or being a freelancer, etc.), while "way of life" in English suggests some clear policy you have in your life (like being a vegan for the sake of other animals on this earth, being humanitarianist and constantly helping others, being an atheist and believing only in yourself, etc.) that defines your whole approach to life.

I agree that if you look at the words/phrase they mean the same, but at times they say the conceptual levels of some similar-sounding words can be different from one language to another, which may be apparent in this case. When I hear "生き方" I think of lifestyles and habits, and "way of life" it can get to philosophical level.

If someone had that tattoo, I would be tempted to ask, so what? :)

Thank you everyone :)

So basically, if a foreigner had a tattoo of '生き方' it would be weird?


Once again, thank you so much for your help!

I'd say it will look strange.

While "way of life" in English can sound like "I have philosophy/firm belief in life," "生き方" only says "how I go about my life," so people would wonder - so what kind of way of living does he prefer?

Thank you for explaining it so well! :)
Your answers all really helped!