Translation guide
Refers to the lower middle class, often with connotations of conventionality, materialism, and narrow-mindedness. In Japanese, it can be expressed through direct loanwords, native terms for social class, or descriptive phrases capturing the associated attitudes.
Referring to the social class of small business owners, shopkeepers, and white-collar workers with modest means.
Loanword from French 'petit bourgeois', commonly used in Japanese to refer to the lower middle class, often with Marxist or sociological connotations.
He was born into a petit bourgeois family.
Japanese translation of 'petit bourgeois', literally 'small bourgeois'. Used in political or economic contexts.
They have a strong petit bourgeois consciousness.
Literally 'lower middle class', a more descriptive and neutral sociological term.
The life of the lower middle class cannot be called stable.
Literally 'petty citizen', often used to describe the petit bourgeois lifestyle or mentality, sometimes with a negative nuance of narrow-mindedness.
They can't escape from a petit bourgeois way of thinking.
Describing the stereotypical mindset associated with the petit bourgeois: concern with respectability, material possessions, and conventional values.
Adjectival phrase meaning 'petit bourgeois' in attitude or mentality, often implying conventionality and lack of imagination.
His tastes are petit bourgeois.
They seek petit bourgeois happiness.
Adjectival form of the loanword, used similarly to describe petit bourgeois attitudes.
That's a petit bourgeois way of thinking.
Means 'philistine' or 'vulgar', capturing the materialistic and conventional side of petit bourgeois mentality.
Adjective meaning 'petty', 'narrow-minded', or 'small-scale', often used to describe a petit bourgeois lifestyle or mindset.
プチブル is a direct loanword often used in political or sociological discussions, while 小市民 is more literary and focuses on the lifestyle and mentality. 小市民的 is the most common way to describe someone's petit bourgeois attitudes.
Do not translate 'petit bourgeois' word-for-word as 小さいブルジョア. Use the established loanword プチブル or the natural Japanese equivalents provided.
They are steeped in philistine values.
I hate a narrow, petit bourgeois life.