世せ間けん知ち

Meanings

noun

worldly wisdom; knowledge of the ways of the world

Refers to practical social intelligence gained through life experience, not academic knowledge.

彼かれは若わかいが、世せ間けん知ちに長たけている。
He is young, but he has a lot of worldly wisdom.
世せ間けん知ちのない行こう動どうで、周まわりを困こまらせてしまった。
My naive behavior caused trouble for those around me.

See all 3 example sentences ›

Kanji

世generation, world, society
間interval, space
知know, wisdom
智wisdom, intellect, reason

Related words

世よ渡わたり
世渡り focuses on the skill of getting along in society, often with a nuance of tact or shrewdness, while 世間知 is more about accumulated practical knowledge of how the world works.
常じょう識しき
常識 is common sense or general knowledge expected of any adult, whereas 世間知 implies deeper, experience-based understanding of social norms and human nature.

Built from

世せ間けん+知ち

Written forms

世せ間けん知ち
Standard kanji spelling.
世せ間けん智ち
Variant using 智 (wisdom). Less common.

Etymology

Compound of 世間 (world, society) and 知 (knowledge, wisdom). The exact historical derivation is uncertain, but the word transparently means 'knowledge of the world'.