風習
Meaning in Englishcustom
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Word context
What it means
風習 means the customary practices and traditions of a community, especially those passed down through generations and shaping social life. It describes shared rituals, norms, and everyday patterns that communities learn and transmit, influencing how people behave together over time.
Main meanings
- One nuance: conveys formal, historical or ethnographic sense, emphasizing the role of culture over individual behavior.
- Another nuance: often tied to ceremonies, rites, and seasonal or lifecycle practices within a locality or group.
- Usage nuance: commonly appears in scholarly writing and sociocultural descriptions rather than casual conversation.
How to use it
Primarily used in formal, historical, or sociocultural contexts. In everyday speech, 宮習 or 習慣 are preferred for personal routines; common constructions include 地域の風習 and 風習を守る, signaling communal traditions rather than individual habits.
Variants and close terms
- 慣習 ( Kanshū ) — general synonym for customary practice
- 風俗 ( Fūzoku ) — related concept focusing on manners and broader customs
- 地域風習 ( Chiiki fūshū ) — regional customs
Composition
- 風: wind; here used metaphorically to indicate the prevailing manners of a society.
- 習: to learn or practice; implies patterns learned and transmitted within a community across generations.
Etymology
風 (fū) evokes wind, used metaphorically to signal prevailing manners; 習 (shū) means to learn or practice; together they denote patterns learned and transmitted within a community.
Origin
風習 appears in classical Japanese and is attested in Heian and Edo period writings as a label for inherited social patterns; its modern sense solidified with the rise of sociocultural discourse in early modern Japan.
Word class
Noun (名詞)