士气

• Pinyin: shì qì
• Hanzi breakdown: 士 = 一 + 十 (soldier, man of merit, scholar); 气 = 气 (breath, spirit, vital energy)

Meaning

Morale; fighting spirit; esprit de corps. The collective confidence, motivation, and determination of a group, especially in adversity.

Originates in military contexts (soldiers's spirit) but is now widely used in sport, business, and organisational management. Key collocations: 士气高涨 (morale is soaring), 士气低落 (morale is low), 鼓舞士气 (boost morale), 士气大振 (morale greatly lifted), 稳定士气 (stabilise morale). Leaders and coaches are often evaluated on their ability to manage team morale.

Examples

1. 主教练在赛前发表了一番慷慨激昂的讲话，成功凝聚了全队的意志，大幅提升了球员们的士气与斗志。 Before the game, the head coach delivered a passionate speech that united the team’s resolve and greatly boosted the players’ morale and fighting spirit.
2. 连续多场失利之后，球队士气跌入低谷，部分球员的竞技状态与训练态度也随之出现了明显的消极迹象。 After a string of losses, the team’s morale hit rock bottom, and some players’ competitive form and training attitude began to show clear signs of negativity.
3. 企业管理者必须善于在逆境中稳定团队士气，既要如实告知困难，又要激励员工以积极的心态共克时艰。 Business leaders must be able to steady team morale in adversity—being honest about the difficulties while motivating employees to face them together with a positive mindset.

Usage Guide

Context: military, sports, business, management, team dynamics

Tone: neutral

Do Say

• 公司在业绩下滑最严重的季度里果断推出员工持股计划和绩效奖金双通道激励机制，有效稳定了员工队伍的士气，避免了人才的大规模流失。(During the quarter of the most severe performance decline, the company decisively introduced a dual-channel incentive mechanism of employee stock ownership and performance bonuses, effectively stabilising employee morale and preventing large-scale talent attrition.)
• 教练团队深知高强度训练周期中保持士气的重要性，因此在严格执行体能训练计划的同时，也特别注重为运动员创造必要的心理减压空间。(The coaching team is well aware of the importance of maintaining morale during high-intensity training cycles, and therefore, while rigorously executing the physical training programme, also pays particular attention to creating the necessary psychological decompression space for athletes.)

Don't Say

• 士气 for an individual person's mood or confidence — use 信心 (confidence), 积极性 (enthusiasm), or 斗志 (fighting spirit); 士气 specifically denotes the collective morale of a group or team, not an individual's personal state of mind

Origin & History

士 (soldier, warrior, scholar of virtue) + 气 (breath, spirit, energy, will)

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal