うきよ

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Japanese

Alternative spellings
浮き世
浮世
憂き世
憂世

Etymology

Originally a compound of 憂き (uki, the 連体形 (rentaikei, “attributive form”) of 憂し (ushi, “gloomy; depressing”, modern 憂い (ui))) +‎ 世 (yo, “world; generation”); attested in the Heian period with the senses of depression. In the Muromachi period; the word was influenced by Sino-Japanese Buddhist word 浮世 (fusei, “ephemeral world; impermanent life”), giving the meanings of more positive senses including sexual pleasure and causing reanalysis of the uki segment as 浮き (uki, the 連用形 (ren'yōkei, “stem or continuative form”) of 浮く (uku, “to float”)).

Pronunciation

  • Historical evolution of the Kyoto pitch accent
※ H for high and flat syllables (◌́), L for low and flat syllables (◌̀), F for high-to-low syllables (◌̂), R for low-to-high syllables (◌̌).
※ References: (senses 5 and derived only)

Noun

うきよ • (ukiyo) 

  1. 憂き世, 憂世: gloomy, depressing world or life
  2. 憂き世, 憂世: troubling relations
  3. 憂き世, 憂世: (Buddhism) this secular world
  4. 憂き世, 憂世: a world as transistory as a dream or illusion; a world that feels like a dream
  5. 浮き世, 浮世: the transitory world or life; fleeting world; ephemeral world; impermanent life
    • 1948, 永井隆, ロザリオの鎖:
      まあ助(たす)けられたり、助(たす)けたり、これが浮(う)き世(よ)の人情(にんじょう)です。
      Mā tasukeraretari, tasuketari, kore ga ukiyo no ninjō desu.
      Well, accepting help and helping others is empathy for a transient existence.
  6. 浮き世, 浮世: a love affair; a person in such relationships
  7. 浮き世, 浮世: a red-light district (place for sexual pleasures); the obsession with such places
    Synonym: 遊里 (yūri)
  8. 浮き世, 浮世: the current world one lives in; current social world or generation
    Synonym: 世の中 (yononaka)
  9. 浮き世, 浮世: current trends; contemporary customs; trending (often used as a prefix)
    浮世(うきよ)絵(え)、浮世(うきよ)掛(がか)り、浮世(うきよ)笠(がさ)、浮世(うきよ)気(ぎ)
    ukiyoe, ukiyogakari, ukiyogasa, ukiyogi
    trending picture, trending work, trending hat (worn by young men and women), trending interest
  10. 浮き世, 浮世: synonym of 浮世節 (ukiyobushi, “kinds of early modern period songs”)
  11. 浮き世, 浮世: synonym of 浮世袋 (ukiyobukuro, “kind of early modern period bag”)
  12. a type of aloes wood

Usage notes

Sense 5 is the most commonly used for this word.

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Nihon Kokugo Daijiten Dai-ni-han Henshū I'inkai (日本国語大辞典第二版編集委員会) (2001-2002) 日本国語大辞典　第二版 , Tokyo (東京都): Shōgakukan (小学館), →ISBN
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Hirayama, Teruo, editor (1960), 全国アクセント辞典 (Zenkoku Akusento Jiten, “Nationwide Accent Dictionary”) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Tōkyōdō, →ISBN
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