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One of the best Japanese Kanji dictionary.
The kanji most commonly used for "Passion" are 情、熱.
情
情熱 (jōnetsu) — passion — is feeling plus heat, and the halves say it all. 情 (jō / nasake) is feeling itself: emotion, sympathy, the warmth between people. It ranges wide — 愛情 (love), 友情 (friendship), 人情 (human kindness) — and in 情け it is mercy: the samurai virtue of 武士の情け, the warrior’s compassion.
熱 (netsu / atsui) is heat — literal fever (熱がある, to run a temperature) and the metaphorical burn: 熱心 is enthusiasm (“hot heart”), 熱中 is being absorbed, and a 熱い人 is a person who burns for things. Sports commentary, band interviews and school mottoes all run on 熱.
Where English “passion” tilts romantic, 情熱 tilts vocational: the passion of the artisan, the athlete, the researcher. For the romantic register Japanese reaches for 恋 (longing love) or 焦がれる — to be scorched with yearning; the metaphor of fire holds either way.
Everyday Japanese vocabulary built from the characters above.
情熱 in full is the word — passion as burning dedication, and it reads admiringly. 熱 alone is a strong minimal pick ("heat/fervour"), though it also just means fever. 情 alone reads as "feeling/mercy" — gentler than intended. If the passion is romantic, 恋 says that specifically; the fire metaphor 炎 (flame) is the visual alternative.
What is Onyomi?
Onyomi, also known as the "Sino-Japanese reading," is one of the two main reading systems for kanji characters in Japanese. It refers to the reading of a kanji character that is derived from the original Chinese pronunciation.
What is Kunyomi?
Kunyomi, also known as the "native Japanese reading," is one of the two main reading systems for kanji characters in Japanese. It refers to the reading of a kanji character that is based on the native Japanese pronunciation. Kunyomi readings are often used when a kanji character stands alone or is followed by hiragana, as in verbs and adjectives. Mastering both kunyomi and onyomi is crucial for understanding and using kanji effectively in the Japanese language.
What is Radical?
A radical, also known as "bushu" in Japanese, is a fundamental component of kanji characters. Radicals are the building blocks of kanji and are used to categorize and organize them in dictionaries. There are 214 traditional radicals, each with its own meaning, which often provides a clue to the meaning of the kanji character it forms.
What is strokes?
Stroke count, or "kakusuu" in Japanese, refers to the number of individual brushstrokes required to write a kanji character. Each kanji has a specific stroke order and stroke count, which are essential for writing the character correctly and legibly. Understanding and following the correct stroke order not only ensures proper balance and aesthetics but also makes writing more efficient and fluid.