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

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:
    [Show/Hide]
    ^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
  - IPA (Quanzhou): /se⁴¹⁻⁵⁵⁴ kan³³/
  - IPA (Kaohsiung): /se²¹⁻⁴¹ kan⁴⁴/
  - IPA (Xiamen): /se²¹⁻⁵³ kan⁴⁴/
  - IPA (Taipei): /se¹¹⁻⁵³ kan⁴⁴/
- (Hokkien: Zhangzhou)
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī: sì-kan
  - Tâi-lô: sì-kan
  - Phofsit Daibuun: sie'kafn
  - IPA (Zhangzhou): /si²¹⁻⁵³ kan⁴⁴/
- (Teochew)
  - Peng'im: si³ gang¹
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī-like: sì kang
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /si²¹³⁻⁵⁵ kaŋ³³/

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	/ɕiᴇi^H/	/kˠɛn/
Pan Wuyun	/ɕiɛi^H/	/kᵚæn/
Shao Rongfen	/ɕjæi^H/	/kæn/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/ɕiaj^H/	/kəɨn/
Li Rong	/ɕiɛi^H/	/kɛn/
Wang Li	/ɕĭɛi^H/	/kæn/
Bernhard Karlgren	/ɕi̯ɛi^H/	/kăn/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	shì	jiān
Expected Cantonese Reflex	sai³	gaan¹

Noun

世間

(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., 2025.

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)

society, public

Derived terms

世間離(せけんばな)れ (sekenbanare)

Korean

Hanja in this term
世	間

Noun

世間 • (segan) (hangeul 세간)

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

Vietnamese

chữ Hán Nôm in this term
世	間

Noun

世間

chữ Hán form of thế gian (“world”)