also: ぞくせい
this world; mundane life; earthly existence
Refers to the secular, everyday world as opposed to the spiritual or monastic realm. Often used in Buddhist or literary contexts.
僧侶は俗世を離れて修行に専念した。
The monk left the mundane world and devoted himself to ascetic practice.
彼は俗世のしがらみから逃れたいと思っている。
He wants to escape the entanglements of worldly life.
俗世 directly names the secular, everyday world people live in, whereas 塵 evokes the same idea of worldly cares and distractions through the metaphor of accumulated dust.
everyday world; mundane world; secular world
this world; earthly world; secular society · ordinary world; everyday life; workaday world
Standard kanji spelling; the reading ぞくせ is more common than ぞくせい.
Alternate reading; less common and may be considered non-standard or archaic.
Compound of 俗 (vulgar, worldly) and 世 (world, generation). The reading ぞくせ is a regular on'yomi combination; ぞくせい may reflect an older or alternative reading.