Where does “生意気” come from?

生意気 (Japanese) comes from Japanese 生, from Japanese 生き, from Japanese 生く — to live; to exist; to keep alive; to grow or...

生意気 (Japanese): cheeky, impertinent, fresh, wise

Definitions

  1. cheeky, impertinent, fresh, wise

Ancestry of “生意気”, step by step

生意気 traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Japanese

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Japanesea raw, uncooked state; Short for 生ビール; live
2Japanese生きliving; life, living; freshness
3Japanese生くto live; to exist; to keep alive; to grow or...

via Japanese 意気

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Japanese意気spirits, especially high spirits
Every word from Japanese 生くEvery word from Japanese 生きEvery word from Japanese