一いち代だい分ぶん限げん

also: いちだいぶげん

い

ち

だ

い

ぶ

ん

げ

ん

Meanings

noun

new money; nouveau riche; self-made wealthy person

Refers to a person who became wealthy within their own lifetime, often contrasted with inherited wealth. Can carry a slightly dismissive or envious tone.

彼かれは一いち代だい分ぶん限げんで、若わかい頃ころから事じ業ぎょうを起おこして成せい功こうした。
He is a self-made wealthy person who started a business from a young age and succeeded.
あの豪ごう邸ていの主あるじは一いち代だい分ぶん限げんらしい。
The owner of that mansion seems to be nouveau riche.

Kanji

一one, one radical (no.1)
代substitute, change, convert
分part, minute of time, segment
限limit, restrict, to best of ability

Related words

成なり上あがり
成り上がり emphasizes a sudden rise in social status, often with a negative connotation of being an upstart, while 一代分限 focuses more on the wealth aspect and is less pejorative.
富ふ豪ごう
富豪 is a general term for a wealthy person, without specifying whether the wealth is inherited or self-made.

Written forms

一代分限
- いちだいぶんげん
  Standard kanji form. The reading いちだいぶんげん is the most common.
- いちだいぶげん
  Alternate reading いちだいぶげん is less common but attested.
いちだいぶげん

Etymology

Compound of 一代 (one generation, lifetime) and 分限 (wealth, social standing). The term likely originated in the Edo period to describe merchants who rose to wealth within a single generation.