How to Say "Passion" in Japanese

情熱

jōnetsu

The Japanese word for passion is 情熱 (jōnetsu).

情熱 refers to an object of passionate love or a strong interest.

Meaning: object of passionate love or strong interest (noun)

What does it mean word for word?

The word 情熱 is composed of the characters 情, meaning emotion or feeling and 熱, meaning heat or enthusiasm.

To use 'passion' as an adjective meaning 'passionate', you add the suffix -的な to the noun to form 情熱的な (jōnetsu-teki na).

jōnetsu

While 情熱 refers to passion, the word for 'passion' in a religious context, such as the Passion of Christ, is 受難 (junan), which literally means 'suffering'.
The word 情熱 was actually a deliberate translation of the English word 'passion' created by the writer Kitamura Tōkoku in 1893.
To describe a 'passionate' person, Japanese speakers may use 熱血 (nekketsu), which literally means 'hot blood'.

トムの情熱は、音楽に注がれています。
Tom's real passion is music.
This sentence shows how to describe someone's passion being directed toward a specific field using 情熱.
Tatoeba #8495726 by small_snow, translation #7927558 by Hybrid
情熱は苦悩を生む。
Passion creates suffering.
Tatoeba #5149 by mookeee, translation #1751 by Swift
彼は音楽に対して本当に情熱を持っている
He has a true passion for music.
そのプロジェクトについての熱意を共有しましょう
Let's share our passion for this project.
彼女は映画に熱中している
She is passionate about movies.
彼のライブパフォーマンスは情熱的だ
His live performance is passionate.
彼は釣りにハマっている
He is passionate about fishing.
彼女は絵に一心不乱に夢中で、時間を忘れて取り組んでいる
She is passionately absorbed in painting, forgetting time.
彼の仕事への情熱は素晴らしい。
Kare no shigoto e no jounetsu wa subarashii.
His passion for his work is wonderful.

Hiyori and Ren are talking about their hobbies.

陽葵 Himari

蓮さんは、何に情熱を注いでいますか？
Ren-san wa, nani ni jounetsu o sodeite imasu ka?
Ren, what are you passionate about?
蓮 Ren

僕は料理に情熱を持っています。
Boku wa ryouri ni jounetsu o motte imasu.
I have a passion for cooking.
陽葵 Himari

それは素敵ですね！
Sore wa suteki desu ne!
That's wonderful!
蓮 Ren

いつか陽葵さんに作ってあげたいです。
Itsuka Hiyori-san ni tsukutte agetai desu.
I want to cook for you someday, Hiyori.

Sources

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