野暮

• 読み: やぼ
• ローマ字: yabo
• 漢字の分解: 野 (ya) — wilderness, rural | 暮 (bo) — dusk, living
• 発音: /ja.bo/

意味

Boorish; unrefined; tactless; gauche. Describes someone who lacks social grace, wit, or aesthetic sensibility.

A na-adjective and noun contrasted with its antonym 粋 (iki — refined, tasteful). A 野暮 person fails to read the room — they ask awkward questions that kill the mood, dress without style, or explain jokes that need no explanation. The concept is rooted in Edo-period aesthetic culture, where 粋 was the supreme social virtue and 野暮 its clumsy opposite. Still widely used in modern Japanese to call out social obtuseness.

例文

1. そんな野暮なことを聞かずに、雰囲気を楽しんでくれればよかったのに。
2. 彼のユーモアの本質をいちいち説明するのは野暮というものだ。
3. 野暮な格好をして大事な席に現れると、周囲に余計な気を遣わせてしまう。

使い方ガイド

場面: social commentary, aesthetics, interpersonal critique, Edo culture

トーン: mildly critical

起源と歴史

The kanji 野 (ya/no) means 'wilderness, rural' and 暮 (bo/kure) relates to 'dusk, living'. The compound originally evoked someone from the countryside, unfamiliar with urban refinement — an Edo-period cultural marker for lack of polish.

文化的背景

時代: Edo to Modern

世代: Adults

社会的背景: Cultural enthusiasts