鬱蒼

• 読み: うっそう
• ローマ字: ussou
• 漢字の分解: 鬱 (utsu) — dense growth, oppression | 蒼 (sou) — dark green, lush
• 発音: /ɯs.soː/

意味

Dense; thick; overgrown; luxuriant. Describes vegetation that has grown so thickly it blocks light or creates a sense of enclosure.

A na-adjective most commonly used in the patterns 鬱蒼とした (grown dense and lush) or the literary 鬱蒼たる. It appears almost exclusively with vegetation — forests, jungles, overgrown gardens — and carries connotations of wildness, mystery, or neglect depending on context. Rarely used in everyday speech; more common in literary prose, travel writing, and nature description.

例文

1. 鬱蒼とした森の中に踏み込むと、真昼でも薄暗く静寂が支配していた。
2. 庭木が手入れされないまま鬱蒼と茂り、隣家の日差しを完全に遮っている。
3. その渓谷は鬱蒼たる木々に覆われ、足元には苔が厚く積もっていた。

使い方ガイド

場面: nature description, literature, travel writing, poetry

トーン: literary

起源と歴史

From classical Chinese 鬱蒼 (yùcāng), combining 鬱 (lush growth, also oppression) and 蒼 (dark green). Entered Japanese literary vocabulary via Chinese classical texts.

文化的背景

時代: Classical to Modern

世代: Adults

社会的背景: Educated