世間

See also: 世间

Chinese

		life; age; generation life; age; generation; era; world; lifetime	interstice; separate; between interstice; separate; between; among; space; (measure word)
trad. (世間)		世	間
simp. (世间)		世	间

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): shìjiān

  (Zhuyin): ㄕˋ ㄐㄧㄢ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): sai³ gaan¹
• Hakka (Sixian, PFS): sṳ-kiên / sṳ-kiân
• Southern Min

  (Hokkien, POJ): sè-kan / sì-kan

  (Teochew, Peng'im): si³ gang¹

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• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)
    • Hanyu Pinyin: shìjiān
    • Zhuyin: ㄕˋ ㄐㄧㄢ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: shìhjian
    • Wade–Giles: shih⁴-chien¹
    • Yale: shr̀-jyān
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: shyhjian
    • Palladius: шицзянь (šiczjanʹ)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ʂʐ̩⁵¹ t͡ɕi̯ɛn⁵⁵/
    • Homophones:

      edit edit 世間 / 世间 適間 / 适间 視姦 / 视奸

• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • Jyutping: sai³ gaan¹
    • Yale: sai gāan
    • Cantonese Pinyin: sai³ gaan¹
    • Guangdong Romanization: sei³ gan¹
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /sɐi̯³³ kaːn⁵⁵/
• Hakka
  • (Northern Sixian, incl. Miaoli)
    • Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: sṳ-kiên
    • Hakka Romanization System: sii gien^ˊ
    • Hagfa Pinyim: si⁴ gian¹
    • Sinological IPA: /sɨ⁵⁵ ki̯en²⁴/
  • (Southern Sixian, incl. Neipu)
    • Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: sṳ-kiân
    • Hakka Romanization System: sii gian^ˊ
    • Hagfa Pinyim: si⁴ gian¹
    • Sinological IPA: /sɨ⁵⁵ ki̯an²⁴/
• Southern Min
  • (Hokkien: Xiamen, Quanzhou, General Taiwanese)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: sè-kan
    • Tâi-lô: sè-kan
    • Phofsit Daibuun: sea'kafn
    • Sinological IPA (Quanzhou): /se⁴¹⁻⁵⁵⁴ kan³³/
    • Sinological IPA (Kaohsiung): /se²¹⁻⁴¹ kan⁴⁴/
    • Sinological IPA (Xiamen): /se²¹⁻⁵³ kan⁴⁴/
    • Sinological IPA (Taipei): /se¹¹⁻⁵³ kan⁴⁴/
  • (Hokkien: Zhangzhou)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: sì-kan
    • Tâi-lô: sì-kan
    • Phofsit Daibuun: sie'kafn
    • Sinological IPA (Zhangzhou): /si²¹⁻⁵³ kan⁴⁴/
  • (Teochew)
    • Peng'im: si³ gang¹
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī-like: sì kang
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /si²¹³⁻⁵⁵ kaŋ³³/

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• Middle Chinese: syejH kean

Rime
Character	世	間
Reading #	1/1	1/2
Initial (聲)	書 (26)	見 (28)
Final (韻)	祭 (35)	山 (73)
Tone (調)	Departing (H)	Level (Ø)
Openness (開合)	Open	Open
Division (等)	III	II
Fanqie	舒制切	古閑切
Baxter	syejH	kean
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/ɕiᴇiH/	/kˠɛn/
Pan Wuyun	/ɕiɛiH/	/kᵚæn/
Shao Rongfen	/ɕjæiH/	/kæn/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/ɕiajH/	/kəɨn/
Li Rong	/ɕiɛiH/	/kɛn/
Wang Li	/ɕĭɛiH/	/kæn/
Bernhard Karlgren	/ɕi̯ɛiH/	/kăn/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	shì	jiān
Expected Cantonese Reflex	sai3	gaan1

Noun

世間

1. (literary) this world; the human world; the world of mortals

Synonyms

edit

• 人世 (rénshì)
• 人世間 / 人世间 (rénshìjiān)
• 人寰 (rénhuán) (literary)
• 人間 / 人间 (rénjiān)
• 人間世 / 人间世 (rénjiānshì) (literary)
• 俗世 (súshì)
• 凡世 (fánshì) (literary)
• 塵世 / 尘世 (chénshì)
• 塵世間 / 尘世间 (chénshìjiān)
• 塵俗 / 尘俗 (chénsú)
• 塵寰 / 尘寰 (chénhuán) (literary)
• 塵間 / 尘间 (chénjiān)
• 濁世 / 浊世 (zhuóshì) (literary)

Derived terms

• 世間人 / 世间人
• 五陰世間 / 五阴世间
• 器世間 / 器世间
• 天地世間 / 天地世间
• 有情世間 / 有情世间
• 滿世間 / 满世间

Descendants

Sino-Xenic (世間):

• → Japanese: 世(せ)間(けん) (seken)
• → Korean: 세간(世間) (segan)
• → Vietnamese: thế gian (世間)

References

• “世間”, in 教育部臺灣台語常用詞辭典 [Dictionary of Frequently-Used Taiwanese Taigi] (overall work in Mandarin and Hokkien), Ministry of Education, R.O.C., 2026.

Japanese

Kanji in this term
世	間
せ Grade: 3	けん Grade: 2
goon

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) せけん [séꜜkèǹ] (Atamadaka – [1])
• IPA^(key): [se̞kẽ̞ɴ]

Noun

世(せ)間(けん) • (seken) 

1. society, public

Derived terms

• 世間離(せけんばな)れ (sekenbanare)

See also

• 人間(じんかん) (jinkan)

References

• “世間”, in 漢字ぺディア [Kanjipedia]‎^[1] (in Japanese), The Japan Kanji Aptitude Testing Foundation, 2015–2026

Korean

Hanja in this term
世	間

Noun

世間 • (segan) (hangeul 세간)

1. hanja form^? of 세간 (“society, public”)

Vietnamese

chữ Hán Nôm in this term
世	間

Noun

世間

1. chữ Hán form of thế gian (“world”)