A compound of 気 (ki, "spirit/energy/mood," from Chinese 氣 qì) + 持ち (mochi, "holding," from the verb 持つ motsu, "to hold"). Literally "what the spirit holds" — the state or mood one carries inside. The character 気 has been central to East Asian concepts of inner energy and mental state for centuries.

気持ち is one of the most versatile emotional words in Japanese. It appears in everyday phrases like 気持ちいい (kimochi ii, "feels good") and 気持ち悪い (kimochi warui, "feels bad/gross"). Expressing and reading others' 気持ち — without them having to spell it out — is a valued social skill in Japan, tied to the concept of 察する (sassuru, "to sense/read the air"). Non-Japanese speakers sometimes recognize "kimochi" from anime or J-pop before learning any other Japanese.