刹那

Japanese JLPT N1 Vocabulary Japanese ★★★ 3/5 neutral せつなsetsuna
読み せつな
ローマ字 setsuna
漢字の分解 刹 (setsu) — Buddhist transliteration character; 那 (na) — that, phonetic component
発音 /set͡sɯ.na/

意味

An instant; a fleeting moment; the smallest perceptible unit of time. Often used to convey the transient, irretrievable nature of a single experience.

Originally a Sanskrit-derived Buddhist concept (Sanskrit: kṣaṇa) referring to the most fundamental unit of time in Abhidharma philosophy. In modern Japanese it carries a poetic or philosophical nuance, often used to highlight how quickly something passes or how a single moment can be pivotal. Distinct from 瞬間 (which is more neutral) by its literary and emotional weight. 刹那的 (momentary, living only for the instant) is a common adjectival form.

例文

  1. 爆発が起きた刹那、彼は本能的に身を屈めた。
  2. その刹那の喜びのために、長い年月を費やしてきた。
  3. 刹那的な快楽を求めるだけでは、真の満足は得られない。

使い方ガイド

場面: literature, philosophy, emotional expression

トーン: poetic

起源と歴史

From Sanskrit kṣaṇa via Buddhist scripture, introduced into Japanese through Classical Chinese Buddhist texts. 刹 is a transliteration character, 那 approximates the terminal syllable. The Buddhist sense of impermanence shaped its enduring metaphorical use.

文化的背景

時代: Ancient–Modern

世代: Adults

社会的背景: Literary/Philosophical

関連フレーズ

年度 Fiscal year; academic year; official year. A defined annual period used for administrative, educational, or financial purposes, often not aligned with the calendar year. 昭和 The Shōwa era; the imperial reign period of Emperor Hirohito, spanning 1926 to 1989. One of the longest and most historically eventful eras in Japanese history. 歴史的 Historic; historical. Describes something of great historical significance, or something related to history in general. 元号 Era name; the official name given to a reign period in the Japanese imperial system. Japan currently uses the era Reiwa, which began in 2019. 干支 The Chinese zodiac; the traditional sexagenary cycle combining the ten Heavenly Stems and twelve Earthly Branches. Also used colloquially to refer to one's zodiac animal sign. 年号 Era name; Japanese era designation. An official name given to a reign period in the traditional Japanese calendar system. 年度末 End of the fiscal year or academic year; year-end in the Japanese administrative calendar. Typically refers to late March. 戦前 Pre-war; the period before a war. In Japanese, typically refers to Japan before World War II, particularly before 1937 or 1941.
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