Sections
Ikiru (生きる): what it means in anime
生きる
いきる · ikiru · to live; to exist JLPT N4
Ikiru means "to live" in the sense of staying alive or living one's life. 生きろ ("live!") is a famous Princess Mononoke line, and 生きている ("is alive") recurs across action anime.
Where you hear it 9 of 42 series
Lines from the Japanese subtitles of episodes 1–3 of each show. A translation is shown only when it clearly matches the line; counts are subtitle lines containing the word.
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Re:Zero · 11 lines in episodes 1–3 · this one from episode 1
ごめんな！ 強く生きてくれ！Sorry! Live strong!
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Angel Beats! · 9 lines in episodes 1–3 · this one from episode 3
音楽で生きていくんだI live by music
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Sword Art Online · 6 lines in episodes 1–3 · this one from episode 3
それでも笑って泣いて 必死にこの世界を生きているBut they still laugh, cry, and live, as best as they can in this world.
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Dr. Stone · 12 lines in episodes 1–3 · this one from episode 1
生きてたのか 千空！ えっ!?
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Code Geass · 11 lines in episodes 1–3 · this one from episode 1
力があれば 生きられるか？―
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Violet Evergarden · 9 lines in episodes 1–3 · this one from episode 1
生きていらっしゃるのですか？
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Frieren · 7 lines in episodes 1–3 · this one from episode 1
まだ生きてたんだ 生臭坊主
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Noragami · 7 lines in episodes 1–3 · this one from episode 3
神器はまだ生きたかった人たち
Also in: Sword Art Online.
Usage and nuance
Do not confuse it with 住む (sumu), which means to live somewhere. 生きる is about being alive; 住む is about an address. Angel Beats and Re:Zero both make 生きる their theme in the first episodes.
生きたい is "I want to live", 生きてる？ is "are you alive?" after a fall, and 生き残る (ikinokoru) is "to survive". Frieren turns the word around: she has 生きる for a thousand years and is only now learning what it means.
The opposite is 死ぬ (shinu), and the pair 生きるか死ぬか, "live or die", is the stakes in any battle arc.
Hear 生きる in Re:Zero11 lines in episodes 1–3 · tappable subtitles · free, no account