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流浪 (るろう) Japanese meaning | Kotomora
Common word Freq. Frequency Top 50,000 Conjugation Meanings 1
noun, noun or participle which takes 'suru', intransitive verb
wandering ; vagrancy ; nomadism
Describes a rootless, drifting lifestyle without a fixed home; often used in literary or descriptive contexts. Can be used as a noun or with する to mean 'to wander' or 'to lead a nomadic life'.
の
民たみ
と
し
て
生い
きる
の
は
厳きび
しい
。
Living as a nomadic people is harsh.
Kanji 浪 wandering, waves, billows Similar words 放ほう 浪ろう 放浪 also means wandering or roaming, but often implies aimless drifting or vagabondage, while 流浪 can carry a slightly more literary or historical nuance of being displaced or rootless.
漂ひょう 泊はく 漂泊 emphasizes drifting or wandering without a destination, often used in poetic or abstract contexts; 流浪 is more concrete about lacking a settled home.
Etymology Composed of 流 (flow, drift) and 浪 (wave, wandering). The combination conveys the idea of drifting like waves, i.e., a rootless, wandering existence. The exact historical derivation is uncertain, but the kanji compound is conventionally associated with this meaning.
