異 郷(いきょう)

いきょう

noun

foreign land; strange place; land far from home

formalliterarygeography

1. foreign land; strange land; place far from home

A land that is unfamiliar or far from one's hometown. Carries a literary or emotional tone, evoking feelings of distance, loneliness, or the experience of being an outsider.

異郷(いきょう)の地(ち)で暮(く)らす。

To live in a foreign land.

異郷(いきょう)で一人(ひとり)、故郷(こきょう)を懐(なつ)かしく思(おも)った。

Alone in a distant land, I felt nostalgic for my hometown.

彼(かれ)は異郷(いきょう)の文化(ぶんか)に触(ふ)れて、自分(じぶん)の世界(せかい)が広(ひろ)がったと感(かん)じた。

By encountering the culture of a foreign land, he felt his world had expanded.

A literary word composed of 異(い) (different, strange) and 郷(きょう) (homeland, village). It evokes a more emotional and poetic register than neutral terms like 外国(がいこく) or 海外(かいがい). Often used in literature, essays, and reflective writing to express the emotional weight of being away from home.

The word pairs naturally with 故郷(こきょう) (hometown), creating a contrast between the familiar and the foreign.

Common collocations

異郷(いきょう)の地(ち): a foreign land (emphatic)
異郷(いきょう)で暮(く)らす: to live far from home
異郷(いきょう)に骨(ほね)を埋(う)める: to be buried in a foreign land (to die far from home)
異郷(いきょう)の人(ひと): a stranger; someone from a faraway place

Similar words

外国(がいこく): foreign country — neutral, everyday term
海外(かいがい): overseas — practical term for abroad
他郷(たきょう): another place; away from home — similar literary register
故郷(こきょう): hometown — the emotional opposite

Related Words

Compare: 外国(がいこく) (foreign country)

Compare: 海外(かいがい) (overseas)

Compare: 他郷(たきょう) (another place)

Compare: 故郷(こきょう) (hometown)

general

Added 2026.4.30 21:11 · Revised 2026.9.2 13:02

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