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Definition 2024

浪人

浪人

Chinese

 
wave; breaker; unrestrained; dissipated
 man; person; people
simp. and trad.
(浪人) 		浪 人

Noun

浪人

  1. hobo; vagabond
  2. ruffian
  3. Japanese ronin
  4. (colloquial) lewd person; lecher

Japanese

Kanji in this term
浪 人
ろう
Grade: S 		にん
Grade: 1
on'yomi

Etymology

From Middle Chinese compound 浪人 ‎(lang nyin, literally “wasteful or reckless person”). Compare modern Mandarin 浪人 ‎(làngrén).

Originally referred to someone who had no fixed residence. Used in the context of the Ritsuryō legal system of Nara and Heian period Japan to refer to someone who had intentionally left their registered residence in order to avoid tax liabilities and corvee labor requirements.[1] Later in the Muromachi period, came to refer to samurai who had left or lost their lords. This meaning was extended in more recent times to refer to potentially anyone who was not employed, and then again to refer to high-school graduates who have failed the annual university entrance exams and are studying for the next year's exams.

Pronunciation

Noun

浪人 ‎(hiragana ろうにん, romaji rōnin, historical hiragana らうにん)

  1. a masterless samurai
  2. a vagrant, a vagabond, a wanderer
  3. someone in exile
    • 1603–1604, Nippo Jisho (page 541)[5]
      Rǒnin. ラゥニン (牢人) 追放された人.
    More specifically spelled 牢人.
  4. a prisoner
    More specifically spelled 牢人.
  5. someone who has been laid off or fired, an unemployed person
    • 1682: 好色一代男 (page 70)[6]
      罷出たるは此あたり八百八祢宜の子共、諸方の浪人友噪ぎにして、かざえ扇は、何しのぶぞかし。
    • 1686: 好色一代女 (page 363)[6]
      「こなたは御牢人衆なるが、御奉公済ざるうちは、折ふし気慰に御入あるべし。」
    • 1686: 好色一代女 (page 437)[6]
      「京の石垣くづれなりと、さる御牢人衆の娘御なりと、新町で天神して居た女郎の果なりと、おまえへさまも見しらしやつて御ざんす事も」と
  6. a student who failed the annual university entrance exams and is waiting to take them again: 浪人生 (​rōninsei)

Derived terms

  • 浪人生 (ろうにんせい) ‎(rōninsei): a student who failed the annual university entrance exams and is waiting to take them again

Synonyms

  • (wanderer): 流浪人 (るろうにん) ‎(rurōnin), 流浪者 (るろうしゃ) ‎(rurōsha)
  • (unemployed person): 失業者 (しつぎょうしゃ) ‎(shitsugyōsha)
  • (exile, prisoner): 牢者 (ろうしゃ) ‎(rōsha)

Verb

浪人する ‎(hiragana ろうにんする, romaji rōnin suru, historical hiragana らうにんする)

  1. to become unemployed, to lose one's job
  2. (archaic) to lose one's master
  3. to study for the following year's annual university entrance exams after failing

Conjugation

Synonyms

References

  1. ↑ 1988, 国語大辞典（新装版） (Kokugo Dai Jiten, Revised Edition) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan
  2. ↑ 2006, 大辞林 (Daijirin), Third Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, ISBN 4-385-13905-9
  3. ↑ 1998, NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 (NHK Japanese Pronunciation Accent Dictionary) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: NHK, ISBN 978-4-14-011112-3
  4. ↑ Tadakane, Tachibana; Atsuo Masamune (ed.) (c. 1177-1188) Iroha Jiruishō (in Japanese), Kazama Shobō, published 1971
  5. ↑ Doi, Tadao (1603–1604) Hōyaku Nippo Jisho (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Iwanami Shoten, ISBN 978-4-00-080021-1, published 1980.
  6. 1 2 3 Ihara, Saikaku; Isoji Asō, Gen Itasaka, Seiji Tsutsumi, Kōshin Noma (volume 47) Saikaku shū, jō, Tōkyō: Iwanami Shoten, ISBN 4-0006-0047-8

Korean

Hanja in this term
浪 人

Noun

浪人 • ‎(nang-in) ‎(hangeul 낭인)

  1. Hanja form? of 낭인, “vagabond; ronin”.

Vietnamese

Hán tự in this word
浪 人

Noun

浪人

  1. Hán tự form of lãng nhân, “ronin”

Pronunciation

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