生気|せいきseiki[1]atamadaka (head-high)

1. nounlife; vitality; verve; vigor; vigour; animation; spirit
   春はるの雨あめが花はなに生気せいきをよみがえらせた。↗

   A spring rain revived the flower.

• SynonymバイタリティNeutralLoanword for a person's abundant drive, as in 「バイタリティあふれる」; 生気 stresses the life that shows in someone.
• Synonym活気かっきNeutralLiveliness of a place or scene, as in 「活気ある町」; used mainly of places, while 生気 is mainly about people and their faces.
• Synonym活力かつりょくNeutralThe driving force behind activity; fits people, organizations or the economy, as in 「活力にあふれる人」「経済の活力」.
• Synonym生命力せいめいりょくNeutralThe power to stay alive, as in 「雑草の生命力」; stresses tenacious survival rather than the liveliness 生気 suggests.
• Synonym精力せいりょくNeutralEnergy for getting things done, and also sexual vigor; typical in 「精力的に働く」.
• SynonymエネルギーNeutralLoanword for energy and drive, covering both physics and human effort; far broader than 生気.
• SynonymエナジーNeutralLoanword for energy, mostly in drink and product names; colloquial.
• Synonym精気せいきWrittenWritten word for life force — the generative essence of things or one's mental vigor; abstract.
• Related気力きりょくNeutralThe mental strength to see things through, as in 「気力が尽きる」; leans toward willpower rather than visible life.
• Related元気げんきNeutralHealthy and full of spirit; the most common word in speech, as in 「元気がない」. 生気 is the life visible in a face.
• Related気迫きはくWrittenWritten word for unflinching spirit or presence, as in 「気迫に満ちる」.
• Related意気いきWrittenWritten word for mettle or spirit, seen in 「意気込み」「意気消沈」.
• Related気勢きせいWrittenWritten word for momentum or drive, as in 「気勢を上げる」.
• Related精根せいこんWrittenWritten word for stamina plus perseverance, as in 「精根尽きる」「精根を傾ける」; 生気 is the life that shows outwardly.
• Related血気けっきWrittenWritten word for the hot-blooded ardor of youth, as in 「血気盛ん」.
• Related活動力かつどうりょくWrittenWritten term for the capacity to act, used in objective description; uncommon.
• Antonym無気力むきりょくNeutralListlessness and lack of drive; the direct opposite of the liveliness 生気 describes.
• Antonym倦怠けんたいWrittenWritten word for weariness or boredom, as in 「倦怠感」; opposite of 生気.

Use 「生気」 for the life that shows in a face or eyes, as in 「生気のない顔」「生気を取り戻す」. Say 「元気」 for a person in good spirits, 「活気」 for a lively place, 「無気力」 for listlessness. For energy itself pick 活力, エネルギー, 気力, 生命力 or 精力; バイタリティ is a loanword for personal drive, エナジー turns up in product names, and 精気, 精根, 気迫, 意気, 気勢, 血気, 活動力, 倦怠 belong to formal prose.

Usage comparisons are AI-assisted and cross-checked by multiple models; for study reference only

1. 活き活いきいきとした様子ようす。