1.
eternity, forever
Time without end, lasting forever.
永遠 expresses the concept of eternity or forever. It has an emotional, sometimes poetic quality, often appearing in contexts of love, memory, and ideals.
FORMS:
- Noun: 永遠 (eternity)
- No-adjective: 永遠の (eternal)
- Adverb: 永遠に (eternally, forever)
COMMON COLLOCATIONS:
- 永遠の愛: eternal love
- 永遠の命: eternal life
- 永遠に忘れない: will never forget
- 永遠に続く: to last forever
- 永遠のテーマ: an eternal/timeless theme
SIMILAR WORDS:
- 永遠: eternity (emotional/poetic — love, memory)
- 永久: permanence (factual/technical — 永久凍土, permafrost)
- ずっと: always, forever (casual everyday word)
- 一生: all one's life, lifetime
NUANCE:
永遠 is more literary and emotional than ずっと. Songs, literature, and wedding vows favor 永遠, while ずっと is the everyday equivalent.
Related Words
Synonym:
永久 (permanent (technical))