望郷(ぼうきょう)

ぼうきょう
noun
homesickness; nostalgia for one's homeland
1. homesickness; nostalgia for one's homeland; longing for home
A deep emotional longing for one's hometown or homeland, often felt when far away. More literary and poetic than everyday homesickness.
望郷(ぼうきょう)の念(ねん)にかられる。
To be seized by homesickness.
海外(かいがい)生活(せいかつ)が長(なが)くなるほど、望郷(ぼうきょう)の思(おも)いが強(つよ)くなる。
The longer one lives abroad, the stronger the longing for home becomes.
この歌(うた)には、故郷(ふるさと)を離(はな)れた人々(ひとびと)の望郷(ぼうきょう)の気持(きも)ちが込(こ)められている。
This song captures the homesickness of people who have left their homeland.

A literary, somewhat poetic word composed of 望(ぼう) (to gaze longingly) + 郷(きょう) (homeland). Frequently appears in literature, songs, and essays about the experience of being far from home. More elevated in register than ホームシック.

COMMON COLLOCATIONS:

  • 望郷(ぼうきょう)の念(ねん): feelings of homesickness
  • 望郷(ぼうきょう)の思(おも)い: longing for home
  • 望郷(ぼうきょう)の歌(うた): song of homesickness

SIMILAR WORDS:

  • ホームシック: homesickness — casual, everyday term
  • 郷愁(きょうしゅう): nostalgia — broader, can be for any past time or place
  • 懐郷(かいきょう): longing for home — similar meaning, rarer
general
Added 2026.3.27 15:03
19500/19931_boukyou