1.
urban legend; modern myth
A contemporary story of unverified origin that spreads as if it were true. Often spooky, surprising, or moralistic, and circulated by word of mouth or online.
それはただの都市伝説だよ。
That's just an urban legend.
学校にまつわる都市伝説を聞いたことがある。
I've heard urban legends related to schools.
インターネットで広まった都市伝説を検証する番組が人気だ。
Shows that fact-check urban legends spread on the internet are popular.
Compound of 都市 (city) + 伝説 (legend). Borrowed from the English term "urban legend" but used broadly for any unverified modern rumor — not just city-specific ones.
COMMON COLLOCATIONS:
- 有名な都市伝説: a famous urban legend
- 都市伝説を信じる: to believe an urban legend
- 都市伝説が広まる: an urban legend spreads
- 都市伝説を暴く: to debunk an urban legend
SIMILAR WORDS:
- 噂: rumor — narrower, refers to specific gossip rather than a story with narrative structure
- {デマ}: false rumor; disinformation — emphasizes that the claim is wrong, not its narrative form