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He and she, using the word "cheerful"

musicisgood

Sempai
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4 Sep 2015
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Using this as an example:
He is cheerful. (かれわようきです)
but when I want to say:
She is cheerful. (かんのじょわげんきです) Why is ( げんき ) used? Can we still use ようき
in this example?

I know cheerful means: 明るい (あかるい)
 
cheerfulの意味 - goo辞書 英和和英
cheerfulの意味 - 英和辞典 Weblio辞書

There is no one-to-one corresponding between a Japanese and English word or between any different languages in general. "Cheerful" can be;

陽気な,朗らかな,元気のよい,快活な,はつらつとした, 上機嫌の, 愉快な,面白い, 気持ちのよい,晴れ晴れとした, 心からの,喜んでする, 自発的な, 熱心な, 気を引き立てるような, 楽しい, 明るい, 快くする

etc., etc. depending on the context, as in the dictionaries linked above. You need to choose the most appropriate one among them in each situations.

The topic particle is, not わ, and the reading of 彼女 is かのじょ, not かのじょ, by the way (i.e., it should be かれはようきです and かのじょはげんきです).
 
Using this as an example:
He is cheerful. (かれわようきです)
but when I want to say:
She is cheerful. (かんのじょわげんきです) Why is ( げんき ) used? Can we still use ようき
in this example?

I know cheerful means: 明るい (あかるい)

The subject marker WA is は not わ even though it's pronounced WA.
Honestly, I don't really hear ようき used that much. Or maybe I've just missed it over the years. Maybe I thought people were saying びょうき. Haha.

Basically it all depends on the nuance you want to say. It's like asking the difference between
he is cheerful, he is bright, he is lively, he is happy, etc. They are all similar in meaning.

ようき is more あかるい in my understanding. More cheerful. Whereas げんき is more spirited and lively.
For example, I don't think you can use ようき for an animal but you could use げんき.
 
cheerfulの意味 - goo辞書 英和和英
cheerfulの意味 - 英和辞典 Weblio辞書

There is no one-to-one corresponding between a Japanese and English word or between any different languages in general. "Cheerful" can be;

陽気な,朗らかな,元気のよい,快活な,はつらつとした, 上機嫌の, 愉快な,面白い, 気持ちのよい,晴れ晴れとした, 心からの,喜んでする, 自発的な, 熱心な, 気を引き立てるような, 楽しい, 明るい, 快くする

etc., etc. depending on the context, as in the dictionaries linked above. You need to choose the most appropriate one among them in each situations.

The topic particle is, not わ, and the reading of 彼女 is かのじょ, not かのじょ, by the way (i.e., it should be かれはようきです and かのじょはげんきです).


Thanks Toritoribe

Can I also say:
彼女は明るいです?
 
Yes, but 明るい人です is more commonly used, I think. (It totally depends on the context, anyway.)
 
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