The phrase "a leitmotiv" is correct and usable in written English.
It is typically used in discussions about music, literature, or art to refer to a recurring theme or idea that is associated with a particular character, situation, or emotion.
Example: "In the film, the composer uses a leitmotiv to represent the protagonist's struggle throughout the story."
Alternatives: "a recurring theme" or "a thematic element".
It has to become a leitmotiv of British foreign policy".
The search for "some other kind of meaning" has been a leitmotiv in Johns's art and in his public statements.
AS EVERY lover of Bach or Beethoven knows, a Leitmotiv is a dominant theme in a piece of music.
As ever, though, Mr Miliband still likes to make a speech with a framing idea – a leitmotiv like the responsible capitalism call in 2011 and the one-nation Labour refrain in 2012.
Like a leitmotiv of the later democratic struggles, Civil Society which turned out not to be a lady, after all would become the antagonist of the city's old entrenched power structures.
Respect for the principle of subsidiarity was a leitmotiv for the last Delors Commission, while "do less, but do it better" has been the principle of the Santer Commission since it took office in 1995, expressing its intention to concentrate on political priorities.
Jean-Michel Othoniel has been using glass as a leitmotiv in the conception of his work.
Nikolai Gogol (1809-1852) was, as Vladimir Nabokov put it, "a strange creature", and a strange leitmotiv runs through his collected stories: there are several absent or errant noses.
This book could have used a similar leitmotiv: if you see what happens inside of a joint, you will be able to believe in your patient's symptoms.
In Noye's song calling for the ark to be built, a flood leitmotiv derived from the first line of the opening hymn recurs as a solemn refrain.
"There is always a common leitmotiv in the Three Wise Men's Procession that gives it unity," said Delia Piccirilli, the director of the procession.
