在ざい来らい

ざ

い

ら

い

Common wordFreq.FrequencyTop 20,000

Meanings

noun, noun which may take the genitive case particle 'no'

Refers to something that has been in place from before, as opposed to something newly introduced. Often used in contrast with 新 (new) or 外来 (foreign/imported).

在ざい来らいのシステムを新あたらしいものに置おき換かえる。
Replace the existing system with a new one.
この地ち域いきでは在ざい来らいの品ひん種しゅが今いまも栽さい培ばいされている。
Conventional varieties are still cultivated in this region.

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Usage patterns

在ざい来らいの〈物もの〉the conventional/existing 〈thing〉 (as opposed to a new one)
在ざい来らいの技ぎ術じゅつではこの問もん題だいを解かい決けつするのは難むずかしい。
It's difficult to solve this problem with conventional technology.

Kanji

在exist, outskirts, suburbs
来come, due, next

Related words

既き存そん
既存 is the everyday, business-friendly word for 'already existing', while 在来 is more formal and often used in technical or contrastive contexts like 在来線.
従じゅう来らいN2
従来 stresses 'up until now' (a time span), whereas 在来 stresses the state of having been present all along rather than the passage of time.

Opposites

外がい来らいN1
外来 means 'coming from outside/foreign', the direct opposite of 在来's 'already present, native/pre-existing'.

Word family

在ざい来らい種しゅ
native species; indigenous species
在ざい来らい線せん
conventional train line; non-Shinkansen line

Etymology

Compound of 在 (exist, be present) and 来 (come, arrive), literally 'existing and coming'. The exact historical derivation is uncertain, but the word has been used since at least the early modern period to mean 'pre-existing' or 'indigenous'.