身も世もない · i-adjective
| Form | Positive | Negative |
|---|---|---|
| Dictionary | 身も世もない | 身も世もなくない |
| Polite | 身も世もないです | 身も世もなくないですalso 身も世もなくありません |
| Past polite | 身も世もなかったです | 身も世もなくなかったですalso 身も世もなくありませんでした |
| Past | 身も世もなかった | 身も世もなくなかった |
| Te-form | 身も世もなくて | 身も世もなくなくて |
| Adverbial | 身も世もなく | |
| Conditional | 身も世もなければ | 身も世もなくなければ |
| Tara conditional | 身も世もなかったら | 身も世もなくなかったら |
heartrending; desperate; full of grief
Describes a state of extreme emotional distress where one feels utterly lost, as if both body and world are gone. Often used in set expressions like 身も世もなく泣く (to cry one's heart out).
She broke down crying her heart out.
Overwhelmed with grief, I just stood there frozen.
絶望的 means 'hopeless' in a more objective or situational sense; 身も世もない focuses on the subjective emotional devastation.
Standard kanji spelling for this set phrase.
Variant using 無い for ない; less common but seen.
Literally 'neither body nor world exists', a classical phrase expressing a state where one loses all sense of self and surroundings due to extreme grief or despair. The exact origin is uncertain, but it has been used in literature for centuries.