好色(こうしょく)

こうしょく
noun, na-adjective
lustful; amorous; lecherous
personality
1. lustful; amorous; lecherous
having or showing excessive interest in sexual pleasure
好色(こうしょく)な男(おとこ)だ。
He's a lecherous man.
好色(こうしょく)な目(め)つきで女性(じょせい)を見(み)る。
He looks at women with lustful eyes.
あの上司(じょうし)は好色(こうしょく)で有名(ゆうめい)なので、女性(じょせい)社員(しゃいん)から嫌(きら)われている。
That boss is famous for being lecherous, so he is disliked by female employees.
2. amorousness; sensual appreciation (in classical literature)
an appreciation of romantic or aesthetic beauty, especially in classical literature
『好色(こうしょく)一代(いちだい)男(おとこ)』は有名(ゆうめい)な作品(さくひん)だ。
The Life of an Amorous Man is a famous work.
井原(いはら)西鶴(さいかく)の好色(こうしょく)物(もの)は江戸(えど)文学(ぶんがく)の傑作(けっさく)だ。
Ihara Saikaku's amorous tales are masterpieces of Edo literature.
古典(こてん)文学(ぶんがく)における好色(こうしょく)の概念(がいねん)は、現代(げんだい)とは異(こと)なる意味合(いみあ)いを持(も)っていた。
The concept of koushoku in classical literature had a different nuance from its modern meaning.

Refers to excessive sexual desire or lechery in modern usage, but in classical Japanese literature it carried a broader, more aestheticized meaning closer to "the pursuit of romantic beauty."

Common collocations

  • 好色(こうしょく)な男(おとこ) — lecherous man
  • 好色(こうしょく)な目(め)つき — lustful gaze
  • 好色(こうしょく)漢(かん) — lecher, womanizer
  • 好色(こうしょく)家(か) — libertine, rake

Literary context

井原(いはら)西鶴(さいかく)'s 好色(こうしょく)一代(いちだい)男(おとこ) (The Life of an Amorous Man, 1682) established 好色(こうしょく)物(もの) (amorous tales) as a major genre of Edo-period fiction. In this classical context, 好色(こうしょく) implied a sophisticated appreciation of romantic encounters rather than crude lust.

Similar words

  • 色欲(しきよく) — sexual desire (blunt, negative)
  • 淫乱(いんらん) — lewdness (strongly negative)
  • 助平(すけべい) — pervert, lecher (colloquial, mildly humorous)
  • 女好(おんなず)き — womanizer (everyday, informal)

Related Words

Compare: 色欲(しきよく) (sexual desire)
Compare: 色情(しきじょう) (lust)
general
Added 2026.4.21 18:11 · Revised 2026.9.2 13:02
24500/24816_koushoku