How to say "world" in Japanese
Choosing the right word
- 世よnounCovers the world as the sphere of human life and society — how people live and what the world is like — rather than the physical globe; it typically appears in set expressions.
- nounThe katakana loanword for 'world'; in ordinary sentences 世界 is the word you want, while ワールド turns up mainly in loanword compounds and names and in contexts such as games or fiction.
- 世間せけんnounThe world as society — the people around you and what they think or say; it points to the public, not the earth, so use it when 'world' means other people and their opinions.
- 世界せかいnounThe default word for 'world' — the earth, the world at large, and figuratively a sphere or circle: a particular domain or sphere of interest or activity.
- 天地てんちnounLiterally 'heaven and earth'; it covers the world of nature, and also 'land' or a realm, but for the ordinary sense of 'world' it is seldom the word you want — 世界 serves instead.
Use 世界 for the world in general — the globe or a figurative sphere; 世 and 世間 cover society and the public; 「ワールド」 is the loanword; 天地 speaks of the world as nature.
Usage comparisons are AI-assisted and cross-checked by multiple models; for study reference only
Japanese equivalents
See also
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