本意(ほんい)

ほんい
noun
real intention; true meaning; one's true wish
formalabstract
1. real intention; true wish; one's actual desire
What someone truly wants or intends, as opposed to what they may appear to want or what circumstances force them to do.
それは本意(ほんい)ではない。
That is not what I truly want.
辞(や)めるのは本意(ほんい)ではなかったが、しかたがなかった。
Quitting wasn't what I truly wanted, but I had no choice.
彼(かれ)の本意(ほんい)がどこにあるのか、誰(だれ)にも分(わ)からなかった。
Nobody could tell what his true intentions were.
2. original meaning; true meaning
The fundamental or original meaning of a word, concept, or action.
教育(きょういく)の本意(ほんい)を考(かんが)える。
To consider the true meaning of education.
この言葉(ことば)の本意(ほんい)は時代(じだい)とともに変(か)わってきた。
The original meaning of this word has changed over time.
法律(ほうりつ)の本意(ほんい)に立(た)ち返(かえ)って解釈(かいしゃく)すべきだ。
We should go back to the original intent of the law in our interpretation.

A compound of 本(ほん) (true/original) and 意(い) (intention/meaning). Most commonly appears in the negative pattern 本意(ほんい)ではない, meaning "not what one truly wants."

Common collocations

Similar words

  • 本心(ほんしん): true feelings — focuses on emotions rather than intentions
  • 真意(しんい): real intention — very close in meaning; slightly more formal and often used about others' hidden intentions
  • 本来(ほんらい): originally — an adverb about how things should be, rather than a noun for intention

Related Words

Compare: 本心(ほんしん) (true feelings)
Compare: 真意(しんい) (real intention)
Compare: 本来(ほんらい) (originally)
general
Added 2026.4.7 6:24 · Revised 2026.9.2 13:02
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