異い郷きょう

い

きょ

う

Freq.FrequencyTop 100,000

Meanings

foreign land; strange land; far-off place

Refers to a land that is distant, unfamiliar, or culturally different. 異郷 often suggests a domestic far-off place, while 異境 leans toward a foreign or exotic land.

彼かれは異い郷きょうの地ちで新あたらしい生せい活かつを始はじめた。
He started a new life in a strange land.
異い境きょうを旅たびするのは刺し激げき的てきだ。
Traveling in foreign lands is exciting.

See all 8 example sentences ›

Kanji

異uncommon, different, queerness
郷home town, village, native place
境boundary, border, region

Related words

異い国こくN1
異郷 is a poetic word for a distant, unfamiliar land, close in feel to 異国 but even more literary and less used for actual countries.

Opposites

ふるさとN3
異郷 means a foreign or unfamiliar land away from home, the opposite of ふるさと, the place where one feels rooted and belongs.

Word family

異い郷きょう人じん
foreigner; expatriate

Written forms

異い郷きょうUsage86%
Standard kanji form; often used for a domestic far-off land or a place that feels unfamiliar.
異い境きょうUsage14%
Alternate kanji form; often implies a foreign or exotic land.

Etymology

Compound of 異 (i, 'different, strange') and 郷 (kyō, 'hometown, village'). The alternate form 異境 uses 境 (kyō, 'boundary, region').