1.
the secular world; mundane society; the everyday world
The ordinary world of human society, as opposed to the spiritual, religious, or transcendent realm. Often used to describe the world of everyday concerns, social customs, and material life.
俗世間から離れて暮らす。
To live apart from the mundane world.
彼は俗世間のことに興味がない。
He has no interest in worldly matters.
修行を終えて俗世間に戻ったとき、すべてが違って見えた。
When I returned to the secular world after completing my training, everything looked different.
Composed of 俗 (common; vulgar; secular) and 世間 (the world; society). Carries a connotation of the ordinary, unenlightened, or materially concerned world, contrasted with spiritual or ascetic life.
COMMON COLLOCATIONS:
- 俗世間から離れる: to withdraw from the secular world
- 俗世間に戻る: to return to the everyday world
- 俗世間の煩い: worldly troubles
- 俗世間の付き合い: social obligations of everyday life
SIMILAR WORDS:
- 世間: society; the world — the general term for society and public opinion, without the spiritual contrast
- 俗世: the secular world — a shorter, more literary form with the same meaning
- 浮世: the floating world; transient world — carries Buddhist connotations of life's impermanence, or refers to the pleasure quarters of Edo-period Japan
- 現世: this world; the present life — used in Buddhist contexts to contrast with afterlife or past lives