How to say "sentiment" in Japanese
Choosing the right word
- 心情しんじょうnounCovers one's inner feelings or emotional state — 'sentiment' as what a person privately feels. Typical when discussing someone's mood, attitudes, or the feelings expressed in writing.
- 情じょうnounA broad word for feeling and emotion, often human warmth or sympathy rather than a specific 'sentiment'. Rarely the standalone word you want for this English sense; it usually appears in set expressions.
- 感傷かんしょうnounMatches the sentimental sense of 'sentiment' — wistful, tearful, or oversoft emotion. The natural choice for 'sentimentality', e.g. being moved by nostalgia or old photographs.
- 小気味こきみnounA marginal match here: it really means a particular, often uneasy or sharp feeling (as in certain fixed phrases), not 'sentiment' in any ordinary sense. Seldom the word you want for this English word.
- 情操じょうそうnounRefers to cultivated sensibility or refined feeling — artistic, moral, or aesthetic 'sentiment' as a faculty to be educated, as in literature about moral or aesthetic upbringing.
Use 心情 for one's emotional state, 感傷 for sentimental emotion, 情操 for cultivated sensibility, 情 for feelings in set contexts, and note 小気味 is marginal.
Usage comparisons are AI-assisted and cross-checked by multiple models; for study reference only
Japanese equivalents
See also
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