須臾

• 読み: しゅゆ
• ローマ字: shuyu
• 漢字の分解: 須 (shu/su) — must, brief moment; 臾 (yu) — a moment, brief time
• 発音: /ɕɯ.jɯ/

意味

An instant; a moment; an extremely brief span of time. A highly literary and classical term for the fleeting nature of time.

A rare literary noun of Chinese Buddhist origin, now encountered almost exclusively in classical texts, poetry, or deliberately archaised prose. It conveys a philosophical sense of time's brevity, often with a meditative or melancholy undertone. 須臾の間に (in a mere instant) is the most common form. Substantially more elevated and archaic than 一瞬 or ほんの少しの間.

例文

1. 須臾の間に夕日が沈み、あたりは暗くなった。
2. その喜びは須臾にして消え去った。
3. 人の一生など宇宙の歴史から見れば須臾にすぎない。

使い方ガイド

場面: classical literature, poetry, Buddhist writing, formal prose

トーン: literary

起源と歴史

From Classical Chinese (須臾, xūyú). Adopted into Japanese literary language as a Buddhist and poetic term for the fleeting passage of time. Appears in Man'yōshū poetry and Heian court literature, conveying the Buddhist sense of impermanence.

文化的背景

時代: Classical

世代: Scholars and elderly

社会的背景: Educated