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酔生夢死 (すいせいむし) Japanese meaning | Kotomora
Meanings 1
noun
idling one's life away ; living to no purpose
yojijukugo (four-character idiom)
Yojijukugo describing a life spent in idle, aimless drifting, as if in a drunken dream. Often used in self-reflection or criticism of a wasted existence.
酔すい 生せい 夢む 死し の 人じん 生せい を 送おく る の は 嫌いや だ 。
I don't want to live a life of aimless idleness.
Kanji 酔 drunk, feel sick, poisoned Similar words 無む 為い 徒と 食しょく Also means living idly, but emphasizes doing nothing productive and eating without working, often with a stronger negative connotation.
自じ 堕だ 落らく Refers to a dissolute, self-indulgent lifestyle, focusing on lack of discipline rather than the dreamlike aimlessness of 酔生夢死.
Etymology A yojijukugo of Chinese origin, combining 酔 (drunken), 生 (life), 夢 (dream), and 死 (death) to evoke a life passed in a haze, as if drunk and dreaming until death.
