How to say "health" in Japanese
Choosing the right word
- 健康けんこうnounThe usual word for health as a state of physical and mental well-being; use it when talking about keeping healthy, one's health in general, or health as a concept.煙草をすうことは健康に悪い。↗Smoking is bad for the health.
- nounA loanword used mainly inside set expressions and service names; on its own it is seldom the word you want for 'health', and it can even suggest an adult-entertainment business.
- 衛生えいせいnounCovers health in the sense of hygiene and sanitation — clean conditions that prevent disease — rather than a person's state of health; think of hygienic practices and sanitary standards.
- 剛健ごうけんna-adjective, nounReally a descriptive word meaning robust, vigorous, or virile; it can describe a sturdy constitution, but it is seldom the word you want when you simply mean 'health'.
- 具合ぐあいnounRefers to a person's condition or state, especially of health at a given moment; the natural choice when asking after someone or saying that they are feeling unwell.
Use 健康 for health as a general state of well-being, 具合 for a person's current condition, 衛生 for hygiene and sanitation; 「ヘルス」 appears mostly in set loanword uses, and 剛健 means vigor rather than health.
Usage comparisons are AI-assisted and cross-checked by multiple models; for study reference only
Japanese equivalents
See also
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