志气
zhì qì · HSK 7
ambition
💪 志 will/aspiration + 气 spirit/energy = the willpower-spirit that is drive
志 carries the sense of one's set will or aspiration; 气 is the inner energy or spirit. Together they name the backbone and resolve that pushes a person to strive.
气 — steam/vapor radical 气
Originally a pictograph of rising vapor or clouds drifting in the sky, depicting curling streams of air. The character came to mean breath, air, and by extension vital energy or 'qi.' The simplified form 气 keeps the original outline; the traditional 氣 added 米 (rice) to suggest steam rising from cooking grain.