1.
competitive spirit; competitiveness; desire to compete and win
The inner drive to compete with others and strive to outperform them. Can be viewed positively as healthy ambition or negatively as excessive rivalry.
彼は競争心が強い。
He has a strong competitive spirit.
子どもの競争心をうまく育てることが大切だ。
It's important to nurture children's competitive spirit well.
競争心が強すぎると、チームワークに悪い影響を与えることもある。
If the competitive spirit is too strong, it can also have a bad effect on teamwork.
Describes the psychological drive to compete and win. Formed from 競争 (competition) + 心 (heart/spirit). The word is neutral in itself but takes on positive or negative connotations depending on context — healthy motivation in sports, but potentially disruptive in cooperative settings.
COMMON COLLOCATIONS:
- 競争心が強い: to be highly competitive
- 競争心を燃やす: to kindle one's competitive spirit
- 競争心をあおる: to stir up competitiveness
- 競争心がない: to lack competitive drive
SIMILAR WORDS:
- 闘争心: fighting spirit — more aggressive, focused on confrontation rather than outperforming
- 向上心: desire for self-improvement — driven by personal growth rather than beating others
- 負けず嫌い: hating to lose — personality trait describing someone who cannot stand losing