Category: PhilosophyPart of speech: nounDifficulty: Advanced
侘び寂び
/wabi-sabi/Roman
English meaning: Wabi-Sabi
Japanese Definition
(日本語)侘び寂びとは、不完全・無常・不完結の中に美を見出す日本の美的哲学である。もともと「侘び」は素朴な簡素さを、「寂び」は経年と使い込みの美を意味した。合わせて、古びたもの・非対称・自然素材に宿る人生の無常と哀愁への日本的感受性を表す。
English Definition
A Japanese aesthetic philosophy that finds beauty in imperfection, impermanence, and incompleteness. Wabi originally connoted rustic simplicity; sabi meant the beauty of aging and wear. Together they describe the Japanese appreciation for the transience and melancholy of life as expressed in weathered objects, asymmetry, and natural materials.
Example
“侘び寂びは日本独自の美的哲学で、不完全さの中に美を見出します。”
In English: “Wabi-sabi is a uniquely Japanese aesthetic philosophy that finds beauty in imperfection.”
Synonyms
- 簡素の美
- 無常の美
Antonyms / Opposites
- 完璧主義
- 豪華絢爛
Literary Heritage
“自己をならふといふは、自己をわするるなり”
/Jiko wo narau to iu wa, jiko wo wasureru nari/
“To study the self is to forget the self.”
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Language information
- Language
- 日本語
- Japanese
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- Kana+Han
- Family
- Japonic
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- 125M