社会

See also: 社會

Chinese

For pronunciation and definitions of 社会 – see 社會 (“society; community; class; etc.”). (This term is the simplified form of 社會).

Notes: Simplified Chinese is mainly used in Mainland China, Malaysia, and Singapore. Traditional Chinese is mainly used in Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan.

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Japanese

Kanji in this term
社	会
しゃ Grade: 2	かい Grade: 2
kan’on

Alternative spelling
社會 (kyūjitai)

Etymology

From Middle Chinese 社會 (MC dzyaeX hwajH, “public gathering for offering to the god of earth”), as a compound composed of 社 (d͡ʑia^X, “god of earth; ceremony for offering to the god of earth”) + 會 (“gathering”). The word was repurposed by Fukuchi Gen'ichirō in 1875 to translate the western concept of society.

Noun

1. society (group of people sharing culture)
   • 1910, (deprecated template usage) 森鷗外, 鴎外漁史とは誰ぞ:

     人(ひと)は社会(しゃかい)を成(な)す動物(どうぶつ)だ。

     Hito wa shakai o nasu dōbutsu da.

     Man is an animal that builds societies / Man is a social animal.

2. a class, a world of a certain group
   • 1904, (deprecated template usage) 河口慧海, チベット旅行記:

     これらは中等以下(ちゅうとういか)の社会(しゃかい)の人(ひと)に多(おお)い。

     Kore-ra wa chūtō ika no shakai no hito ni ōi.

     These are very common among people from the middle and lower classes.

   • 1929, (deprecated template usage) 平林初之輔, 昭和四年の文壇の概観:

     ちょうどそれは金融寡頭政治(きんゆうかとうせいじ)の社会(しゃかい)とよく似(に)ている。

     Chōdo sore wa kin'yū katōseiji no shakai to yoku nite iru.

     It looks exactly like a world of financial oligarchs.

Derived terms

Derived terms

• 社(しゃ)会(かい)学(がく) (shakaigaku, “sociology”)
• 社(しゃ)会(かい)的(てき) (shakaiteki, “social”)
• 社(しゃ)会(かい)派(は) (shakaiha, “social activists”)
• 社(しゃ)会(かい)人(じん) (shakaijin, “working adult”)
• 社(しゃ)会(かい)秩(ちつ)序(じょ) (shakai chitsujo, “social order”)

Anagrams

• 会(かい)社(しゃ) (kaisha, “company”)

Descendants

• → Chinese: 社會／社会 (shèhuì)
• → Korean: 사회 (sahoe)
• → Vietnamese: xã hội