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.
それは本意ではない。
That is not what I truly want.
辞めるのは本意ではなかったが、しかたがなかった。
Quitting wasn't what I truly wanted, but I had no choice.
彼の本意がどこにあるのか、誰にも分からなかった。
Nobody could tell what his true intentions were.
2.
original meaning; true meaning
The fundamental or original meaning of a word, concept, or action.
教育の本意を考える。
To consider the true meaning of education.
この言葉の本意は時代とともに変わってきた。
The original meaning of this word has changed over time.
法律の本意に立ち返って解釈すべきだ。
We should go back to the original intent of the law in our interpretation.
A compound of 本 (true/original) and 意 (intention/meaning). Most commonly appears in the negative pattern 本意ではない, meaning "not what one truly wants."
COMMON COLLOCATIONS:
- 本意ではない: not one's true wish
- 本意を探る: to probe someone's real intentions
- 本意に反する: to go against one's true wishes
SIMILAR WORDS:
- 本心: true feelings — focuses on emotions rather than intentions
- 真意: real intention — very close in meaning; slightly more formal and often used about others' hidden intentions
- 本来: originally — an adverb about how things should be, rather than a noun for intention