路頭

• 読み: ろとう
• ローマ字: rotō
• 漢字の分解: 路 (ro) — road, path; 頭 (tō) — head, top
• 発音: /ɾotoː/

意味

Roadside; streets; being destitute. Primarily used in the phrase 路頭に迷う — to end up on the streets, to be left without means of livelihood.

A noun meaning literally 'the road's head' or roadside, but used almost exclusively in the fixed expression 路頭に迷う (to wander the streets destitute; to be left without a livelihood). This phrase is common in journalism and everyday speech when discussing unemployment, bankruptcy, or sudden loss of support.

例文

1. 突然の解雇で家族全員が路頭に迷う危機に直面した。
2. 会社の倒産により、数百人の従業員が路頭に迷うことになった。
3. 路頭に迷う人を出さないために行政の支援が急務だ。

使い方ガイド

場面: employment, economics, social issues, journalism

トーン: serious

起源と歴史

From 路 (road, path) and 頭 (head, top). The compound evokes the image of being stranded at the start of an open road with nowhere to go — a vivid metaphor for destitution that has been in use since the Edo period.

文化的背景

時代: Edo–Present

世代: Adults

社会的背景: Universal