lowly person; person of humble rank; peasant; churl
Archaic term for a person of low social status or humble birth. Not used in modern Japanese outside historical contexts.
He's really a low-life kind of person.
His vulgar attitude made everyone around him uncomfortable.
In Edo-period documents, 下種 referred to a person of low social standing.
She called the man a lowlife.
卑しい is an adjective describing lowly or vulgar character, while 下種 is a blunt noun/na-adjective used as a direct insult for a person.
下品 describes vulgar behavior or things in general, whereas 下種 specifically labels a person as a low-life.
屑 is a casual, contemptuous term for a worthless person, close in force to 下種 but less specifically about crudeness of character.
下劣 is a na-adjective meaning despicable or base, often describing behavior, while 下種 is used to label the person directly.
Most common kanji spelling for the derogatory sense.
Less common variant; may be encountered in older texts.
Alternate kanji spelling, also seen.
Kana spelling is common in informal writing.
Originally written 下衆, the word denoted people of low social rank or humble occupation in medieval Japanese. It later developed the disparaging senses “vulgar person” and “low-life.”