万まん劫ごう末まつ代だい

Meanings

eternity; for evermore; for many generations to come

A yojijukugo expressing an extremely long, almost endless span of time. Often used in solemn or literary contexts to emphasize permanence or an unending future.

この教おしえは万まん劫ごう末まつ代だいまで伝つたえられるべきだ。
This teaching should be passed down for all eternity.
万まん劫ごう末まつ代だいの平へい和わを願ねがう。
I wish for peace that lasts forevermore.

See all 3 example sentences ›

Kanji

万ten thousand, 10,000
劫threat, long ages
末end, close, tip
代substitute, change, convert

Related words

永えい遠えん
永遠 is the common word for 'eternity' in modern Japanese. 万劫末代 is a much rarer, more literary yojijukugo with a similar meaning but a stronger nuance of spanning countless generations.
未み来らい永えい劫ごう
未来永劫 also means 'for all eternity' and is a yojijukugo, but it is more common than 万劫末代 and focuses on the endless future from now on.

Etymology

A yojijukugo composed of 万 (ten thousand, myriad), 劫 (kalpa, an extremely long period in Buddhist cosmology), 末 (end, future), and 代 (generation, era). The combination emphasizes an unimaginably vast stretch of time, essentially 'for myriad kalpas and future generations'. The exact historical derivation is uncertain, but the phrase draws on Buddhist concepts of cosmic time.