What does Ki mean in Japanese?

Answer 1

The truth is nobody knows what Ki is. but the general meaning is energy or spirit.

Ki means " life force" or "life essence"

It depends on the specific "KI" you are talking about.

it can mean "Tree" 木

it can mean "Spirit" or "mood" or "Disposition" 気

it can mean "yellow(color" 黄

"desk" 几

"danger" 危

"device/instrument" 器

and much more.

If you are asking of the Martial Arts term, "Chi" or "Ki" is commonly understood as the physical energy focused and moved to help mentally focus one in their tasks, such as the common 'breaking boards' or blocks, or other things that would normally hurt excruciatingly. Who would punch a solid block of wood, or stone, anyway?

The term has no true translation, as it is a niche of a language, similar to how "guts" or "balls" or similar has no direct translation, as it is used because of the sexist ancestry of those who speak English as a first language.

Back to the topic. As I said, this has no literal direct translation that would make sense, as "氣" which is the Chinese character for "chi" means, in Japanese, "mood" or "mind"

The term itself is very obscure, and it is accepted as a physical or mental energy used to help focus other energies, or some other similar explanations of similar origin.

Answer 2

In Japanese, "ki" (気) refers to one's energy, mood, spirit, or essence. It is a fundamental concept in Japanese culture and can be used to describe various aspects such as feelings, atmosphere, or intention.