LESSON NOTES · レッスンノート

N4Lesson notes · Oct 4, 2026

Healthy in Japanese: 健康けんこう, 元気げんき or ヘルシー? Which one to use

Healthy in Japanese is 健康けんこう (けんこう) when you mean the condition of the body, 元気げんき (げんき) when you mean energetic and doing well, and ヘルシー when you mean food that is light and low in calories.

English uses one word, "healthy", for all three ideas. Japanese splits them, and picking the wrong one is the most common slip. Calling a person ヘルシー sounds odd, and answering "How are you?" with 健康けんこうです sounds like a medical form. This article sorts out which word goes where.

The basics

What is the most standard word for "healthy"?

健康けんこう (けんこう) is the standard word. It means being in good bodily condition, and it works as both a noun and a な-adjective. As a noun it simply means "health". As a な-adjective it describes people or things that are healthy.

健康けんこうな人ひと — a healthy person (な-adjective, neutral) 健康けんこうが一番いちばんです。 — Health comes first. (polite, a common saying) 祖父そふはとても健康けんこうです。 — My grandfather is very healthy. (polite, describing a person's condition)

Because it is a な-adjective, it needs な before a noun: 健康けんこうな体からだ, not 健康けんこうい体からだ. If that rule still feels shaky, the い-adjectives vs な-adjectives article covers it.

How do you say "good for your health"?

Say 健康けんこうにいい (けんこうにいい) or 体からだにいい (からだにいい). Both mean "good for you". The opposite is 体からだに悪わるい (からだにわるい).

納豆なっとうは健康けんこうにいいです。 — Natto is good for your health. (polite, a common claim about food) 野菜やさいは体からだにいい。 — Vegetables are good for the body. (casual) 夜よるふかしは体からだに悪わるいよ。 — Staying up late is bad for you. (casual, friendly warning)

体からだにいい is the everyday, spoken one. 健康けんこうにいい is a little more formal and shows up on packaging and in articles. Neither is a medical claim by itself. They are just the normal way to say something is "good for you".

How do you say "healthy food"?

For food that feels light and low in calories, use ヘルシー. It is a loanword from English "healthy", but Japanese narrowed its meaning to a menu or diet sense.

ヘルシーな料理りょうりが好すきです。 — I like healthy dishes. (polite, light, low-calorie food) このサラダ、ヘルシーだね。 — This salad is healthy, isn't it. (casual, comment at a café) ヘルシーメニュー — healthy menu (a label you will see at restaurants)

This is a loanword whose meaning narrowed in Japanese (it is not a made-in-Japan coinage like サラリーマン). It describes food and menus, and almost never people. 健康的けんこうてきな食事しょくじ (けんこうてきなしょくじ) is the more neutral way to say "a healthy meal" when you are not talking about calories.

Beyond the basics

What is the difference between 健康けんこう and 元気げんき?

健康けんこう is about the condition of the body. 元気げんき (げんき) is about energy and mood, and it is also how you answer "How are you?" A person can be 元気げんき without being in perfect health, and a person in good health can feel not-so-元気げんき today.

お元気げんきですか。 — How are you? (polite, a greeting) はい、元気げんきです。 — Yes, I'm doing well. (polite, the standard answer) 最近さいきん、元気げんきがないですね。 — You haven't seemed energetic lately. (polite, a gentle concern about mood)

This is why 健康けんこうです is a strange reply to "How are you?". It answers a question about your body, not a greeting. For the full greeting story, see how to say "how are you" in Japanese.

元気げんき is also used for things and moods: 元気げんきな声こえ means a lively voice, and 元気げんきを出だして means "cheer up". 健康けんこう never does that.

What does 丈夫じょうぶ mean?

丈夫じょうぶ (じょうぶ) means sturdy, not easily broken or sick. It is a な-adjective used for bodies and also for objects.

彼かれは体からだが丈夫じょうぶです。 — He has a strong body, he rarely gets sick. (polite, about a person) この袋ふくろは丈夫じょうぶですね。 — This bag is sturdy, isn't it. (polite, about an object)

丈夫じょうぶ is about toughness. 健康けんこう is about the current condition. A child who rarely catches colds is 丈夫じょうぶ, and a person who is in good shape right now is 健康けんこう.

What is a 健康診断けんこうしんだん?

健康診断けんこうしんだん (けんこうしんだん) is a health check-up, a regular custom at schools and workplaces in Japan. People often shorten it to 健診けんしん (けんしん). You will hear it in everyday talk about schedules.

来週らいしゅう、健康診断けんこうしんだんがあります。 — I have a health check-up next week. (polite, everyday schedule talk) 健康診断けんこうしんだん、受うけた? — Did you get your check-up? (casual, workplace chat)

You can use it as a plain vocabulary word: the check-up is something you 受うける (to receive, to take).

How does it sound in anime and casual speech?

In casual speech, people shorten 元気げんき questions to a single word. A friend says 元気げんき? with rising intonation, and the answer is 元気げんき、元気げんき! or まあまあ。

元気げんき? — How's it going? (casual, to a friend) おう、元気げんき元気げんき! — Yeah, doing great! (casual, cheerful, anime-style energy)

Anime heroes tend to be 元気げんきいっぱい (full of energy), a bright, loud kind of cheerfulness. A character who is 元気げんき in that sense is not making a statement about health. It is a personality trait. Meanwhile, a worried friend might say お大事だいじに to someone who is unwell, which is a different situation entirely. For that side, see how to say "sick" in Japanese.

What do you say to someone who isn't feeling well?

お大事だいじに (おだいじに) is the standard phrase, a short wish that the person takes care of themselves. It is said when someone is sick or recovering.

お大事だいじに。 — Take care, get well soon. (polite, said to someone who is ill) 風邪かぜですか。お大事だいじに。 — A cold? Take care. (polite, short and warm)

It is a fixed expression, so it does not change with tense. If you need to visit a clinic yourself, hospital in Japanese has the vocabulary.

Common mistakes

  • Answering "How are you?" with 健康けんこうです. It sounds like reading out a medical report. Use 元気げんきです.
  • Calling a person ヘルシー. ヘルシー belongs to food and menus. For a person, say 健康けんこうな人ひと or 元気げんきな人ひと.
  • Forgetting な before a noun. 健康けんこうな食事しょくじ is right. 健康けんこうい食事しょくじ is not a word.
  • Using 健康けんこう for an object that is strong. A bag or a table is 丈夫じょうぶ, not 健康けんこう.
  • Treating 元気げんき as only about the body. It also covers mood and energy, so 元気げんきがない can mean someone seems down, not sick.

Which word fits?

Word Core meaning Example
健康けんこう (けんこう) healthy, body condition 健康けんこうな人ひと
元気げんき (げんき) energetic, doing well 元気げんきです
ヘルシー light, low-calorie food ヘルシーな料理りょうり
丈夫じょうぶ (じょうぶ) sturdy, rarely sick 丈夫じょうぶな体からだ
体からだにいい good for the body 野菜やさいは体からだにいい
体からだに悪わるい bad for the body 夜よるふかしは体からだに悪わるい

Practice

Build each answer before opening it. Questions 4 and 5 are a pair — 健康けんこう and 元気げんき look alike in English but split in Japanese.

1. How do you say "a healthy person" using 健康けんこう?

Show answer

健康けんこうな人ひと — 健康けんこう is a な-adjective, so it needs な before the noun.

2. A friend asks お元気げんきですか. Give the standard polite answer.

Show answer

はい、元気げんきです — 元気げんき answers the greeting. 健康けんこうです would sound like a medical form.

3. Say "Natto is good for your health."

Show answer

納豆なっとうは健康けんこうにいいです — 健康けんこうにいい (or 体からだにいい) means "good for you".

4. Which word describes the condition of the body: 健康けんこう or 元気げんき?

Show answer

健康けんこう — it is about bodily condition, like a check-up result. This is the pair to question 5.

5. Which word describes energy and mood, and is used in the greeting: 健康けんこう or 元気げんき?

Show answer

元気げんき — it covers energy and mood, and it is what you say in 元気げんきですか.

6. You see a café sign for a light, low-calorie menu. Which word is likely on it?

Show answer

ヘルシー — ヘルシーメニュー. It is a loanword with a food-and-menu meaning.

7. Is "ヘルシーな人ひと" a natural way to say "a healthy person"?

Show answer

No — ヘルシー describes food, not people. Say 健康けんこうな人ひと instead.

8. How do you say "Staying up late is bad for you" casually?

Show answer

夜よるふかしは体からだに悪わるいよ — 体からだに悪わるい is the opposite of 体からだにいい.

9. A sturdy bag: 健康けんこうなかばん or 丈夫じょうぶなかばん?

Show answer

丈夫じょうぶなかばん — 丈夫じょうぶ covers toughness, including for objects. 健康けんこう is for living bodies.

10. Someone has a cold. What short phrase do you say to wish them well?

Show answer

お大事だいじに — the standard "take care" for someone who is unwell.

Talk about food, a person and a lifestyle in a trial lesson and pick 健康けんこう, 元気げんき or ヘルシー for each.

FAQ

Can I say 健康けんこうです to answer "How are you?" It is grammatical, but it sounds odd, as if you were reporting test results. 元気げんきです is the natural reply.

Is ヘルシー ever used for people? Rarely, and it sounds off. For a person, 健康けんこう or 元気げんき fits better. ヘルシー lives on menus, in food ads, and in talk about meals.

What is the difference between 体からだにいい and 健康けんこうにいい? They mean nearly the same thing. 体からだにいい is more spoken and casual. 健康けんこうにいい is slightly more formal and is common in writing.

Is 健康診断けんこうしんだん a custom in Japan? Yes, regular check-ups are an ordinary part of school and work life, so the word comes up in everyday conversation. It is just a vocabulary item for learners, not advice about your own health.

What is the difference between 丈夫じょうぶ and 健康けんこう? 丈夫じょうぶ is about being tough and rarely getting sick, and it also works for objects. 健康けんこう is about the current condition of a body.

Does 元気げんき only mean "healthy"? No. It mainly means energetic and in good spirits. That is why 元気げんきがない can describe someone who looks down, not necessarily sick.

Vocabulary from this article

Tap the block to select all of it, then copy. In Anki: File → Import, note type Basic, separator Tab — the first column becomes the front, the second the back.

健康	けんこう — health, healthy (な-adjective)
元気	げんき — energetic, well, in good spirits
ヘルシー	ヘルシー — healthy (food, low-calorie)
体にいい	からだにいい — good for the body
体に悪い	からだにわるい — bad for the body
健康診断	けんこうしんだん — health check-up
丈夫	じょうぶ — sturdy, rarely sick
お大事に	おだいじに — take care (to someone ill)
夜ふかし	よふかし — staying up late
料理	りょうり — dish, cooking
受ける	うける — to receive, to take (a check-up)

I'm Yuuki, a Japanese teacher based in Tokyo. I've taught on italki as a Top 1% teacher and watched over 1,500 anime, so most of the example sentences on this blog come from lines I've actually heard students ask about — including this one, which comes up in nearly every beginner's first few lessons. For practice with feedback, Book a trial lesson · $13, or work through Japanese practice exercises first.

Sources: the author's own lessons and standard reference grammars.

More drills like the ones above, plus a timed JLPT-style mock test: Practice · N4 · Read something at this level: JLPT N4 stories with audio

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