俗世間(ぞくせけん)

ぞくせけん
noun
the secular world; mundane society
formalwrittenliterary
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(ぞくせけん)から離(はな)れて暮(く)らす。
To live apart from the mundane world.
彼(かれ)は俗世間(ぞくせけん)のことに興味(きょうみ)がない。
He has no interest in worldly matters.
修行(しゅぎょう)を終(お)えて俗世間(ぞくせけん)に戻(もど)ったとき、すべてが違(ちが)って見(み)えた。
When I returned to the secular world after completing my training, everything looked different.

Composed of 俗(ぞく) (common; vulgar; secular) and 世間(せけん) (the world; society). Carries a connotation of the ordinary, unenlightened, or materially concerned world, contrasted with spiritual or ascetic life.

Common collocations

Similar words

  • 世間(せけん): society; the world — the general term for society and public opinion, without the spiritual contrast
  • 俗世(ぞくせ): the secular world — a shorter, more literary form with the same meaning
  • 浮世(うきよ): the floating world; transient world — carries Buddhist connotations of life's impermanence, or refers to the pleasure quarters of Edo-period Japan
  • 現世(げんせ): this world; the present life — used in Buddhist contexts to contrast with afterlife or past lives

Related Words

Compare: 現世(げんせ) (this world)
general
Added 2026.4.30 22:44 · Revised 2026.9.2 13:02
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