世界
Meaning in Englishworld
Animated kanji stroke order
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Word context
What it means
世界 (sekai) means "world"; it denotes either the physical planet, the sum of human society, or an abstract domain of experience (such as a professional, cultural, or personal "world") and is used whenever scope, totality, or a distinct realm is intended.
Main meanings
- 1. The planet or the natural global environment as a geographical/physical entity.
- 2. The international community or the collective of human societies and nations.
- 3. A specific sphere of activity or interest (for example, a professional, artistic, or academic "world").
- 4. A figurative or subjective domain such as a person's inner life or social circle.
How to use it
世界 (sekai) is used in formal contexts (news, academic writing) to talk about global or societal issues and in casual speech to describe someone's personal or professional "world." It frequently appears in compounds to indicate scope or reach and functions naturally with quantifiers and modifiers to express totality, comparison, or perspective.
Variants and close terms
- 世間 (seken): the public sphere or common social world
- 地球 (chikyū): the Earth as a physical planet
- 宇宙 (uchū): the universe or cosmos (broader than "world")
- 内面 (naimen): inner world, inner life (often used as a contrasting term)
Composition
- 世 (se / yo): generation, society, world — denotes people or an age.
- 界 (kai): boundary, realm, sphere — denotes a defined domain or limit.
- Combined, the compound expresses a bounded domain of existence or activity — effectively "the realm (界) of people/generations (世)" which yields the modern sense of "world."
Origin
The term entered Japanese as a Sino-Japanese compound read with on-yomi readings and appears in classical texts transmitted from Chinese; it became established in written Japanese through Buddhist, Confucian, and premodern literary contexts and was firmly integrated into everyday vocabulary by the medieval period.
Word class
noun (名詞)