Translation guide
A person who wanders from place to place without a fixed home, often with connotations of freedom, rootlessness, or disreputability.
To describe someone who travels continuously, often by choice, with a sense of freedom or adventure.
A neutral to slightly literary term for a wanderer or vagabond. It emphasizes the act of wandering without a fixed destination.
彼は生まれつきの放浪者だ。
He is a born vagabond.
A common word for 'traveler'. It can imply a vagabond in a romantic or poetic sense, but is broader and less specifically about homelessness.
彼は風来の旅人だ。
He is a vagabond traveler.
A literary term for a wanderer or drifter, often with a nuance of being displaced or exiled.
彼は流浪者として一生を終えた。
He ended his life as a vagabond.
To describe someone without a home, often seen as disreputable, poor, or aimless.
A standard term for a homeless person or drifter, often with a negative connotation of vagrancy. Can be used in legal contexts.
公園に浮浪者が何人か寝ていた。
Some vagabonds were sleeping in the park.
A dated, somewhat derogatory term for a vagrant or tramp, borrowed from German 'Lumpen'. Rarely used today.
A direct loanword for 'homeless'. It is the most common modern term but lacks the wandering nuance of 'vagabond'.
To refer to a mischievous or disreputable person, often in a lighthearted or archaic way.
A rogue, scoundrel, or good-for-nothing. It carries a stronger sense of delinquency than 'vagabond' but can be used playfully.
あいつはとんでもないならず者だ。
That guy is a complete vagabond.
A ruffian, hoodlum, or vagabond. Implies a rough, potentially violent character.
放浪者 (hourousha) emphasizes the act of wandering, often with a romantic or literary feel. 浮浪者 (furousha) focuses on homelessness and vagrancy, and can be more negative or legalistic.
彼は自由を求める放浪者だ。
He is a vagabond seeking freedom.
浮浪者が駅で寝ている。
A vagabond is sleeping at the station.
If you mean a modern homeless person without the wandering nuance, use ホームレス (hoomuresu) or 路上生活者 (rojouseikatsusha). 浮浪者 can sound dated or judgmental.
昔はルンペンと呼ばれる人々が多かった。
In the past, there were many people called vagabonds.
彼は仕事を失ってホームレスになった。
He lost his job and became a vagabond.
町のごろつきに絡まれた。
I was accosted by a vagabond in town.