世知辛い

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Japanese

Kanji in this term
世	知	辛
せ Grade: 3	ち Grade: 2	から > がら Grade: S
on'yomi		kun'yomi

Alternative spelling
世智辛い

Etymology

From 世知 (sechi) +‎ 辛い (karai). The karai changes to garai as an instance of rendaku (連濁).

Pronunciation

(Tokyo) せちがらい (Nakadaka – )^[1]
IPA^(key):

Adjective

世(せ)知(ち)辛(がら)い • (sechigarai) -i (adverbial 世(せ)知(ち)辛(がら)く (sechigaraku))

(of life or the world) hard to live in; cold; cruel
世(よ)の中(なか)は世(せ)知(ち)辛(がら)い。
Yo no naka wa sechigarai.
The world is cruel.
- 1955, 江戸川乱歩, 影男‎, 青空文庫:
  
  おらあ、日本(にほん)が降伏(こうふく)してから、いろんな勤(つと)めをやってみたが、とても続(つづ)かない。軍人(ぐんじん)にゃあ、せちがらい浮(う)き世(よ)は渡(わた)れねえんだ。
  Orā, Nihon ga kōfuku shite kara, ironna tsutome o yatte mita ga, totemo tsuzukanai. Gunjin nyā, sechigarai ukiyo wa watarenē n da.
  I’ve tried doing all kinds of jobs since Japan surrendered, but they never last. There’s no way for soldiers to get by in this harsh world.
calculating
- 1947, 野村胡堂, 錢形平次捕物控生き葬ひ‎, 青空文庫:
  
  「この邊(へん)は田舍(ゐなか)も同樣(どうやう)で、物置(ものおき)へ入(はひ)るやうな世智(せち)辛(がら)い泥棒(どろばう)もございませんので、へエ」
  “Kono hen wa inaka mo dōyō de, monooki e hairu yō na sechigarai dorobō mo gozaimasen no de, hē”
  “These parts are practically the countryside, and there aren’t any calculating thieves who would break into a storage room.”

Inflection

Inflection of 世知辛い

Stem forms
Imperfective (未然形)	世知辛かろ	せちがらかろ	sechigarakaro
Continuative (連用形)	世知辛く	せちがらく	sechigaraku
Terminal (終止形)	世知辛い	せちがらい	sechigarai
Attributive (連体形)	世知辛い	せちがらい	sechigarai
Hypothetical (仮定形)	世知辛けれ	せちがらけれ	sechigarakere
Imperative (命令形)	世知辛かれ	せちがらかれ	sechigarakare
Key constructions
Informal negative	世知辛くない	せちがらくない	sechigaraku nai
Informal past	世知辛かった	せちがらかった	sechigarakatta
Informal negative past	世知辛くなかった	せちがらくなかった	sechigaraku nakatta
Formal	世知辛いです	せちがらいです	sechigarai desu
Formal negative	世知辛くないです	せちがらくないです	sechigaraku nai desu
Formal past	世知辛かったです	せちがらかったです	sechigarakatta desu
Formal negative past	世知辛くなかったです	せちがらくなかったです	sechigaraku nakatta desu
Conjunctive	世知辛くて	せちがらくて	sechigarakute
Conditional	世知辛ければ	せちがらければ	sechigarakereba
Provisional	世知辛かったら	せちがらかったら	sechigarakattara
Volitional	世知辛かろう	せちがらかろう	sechigarakarō
Adverbial	世知辛く	せちがらく	sechigaraku
Degree	世知辛さ	せちがらさ	sechigarasa

References

^ Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN

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