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居候 (いそうろう) Japanese meaning | Kotomora
Common word Freq. Frequency Top 50,000 Conjugation Meanings 1
noun, noun or participle which takes 'suru', intransitive verb
freeloader ; sponger ; unpaying lodger
Describes a person who lives in someone else's home without paying for room and board. Often used humorously or critically. Can be used as a noun or as a suru-verb (居候する) meaning 'to live as a freeloader'.
彼かれ は 友ゆう 人じん の アパート に 居い 候そうろう さ せ て もらっ て いる 。
He is being allowed to stay as a non-paying guest at his friend's apartment.
Written forms 居い 候そうろう Usage 98%
Standard kanji spelling; high priority in news and frequency lists.
いそうろう Usage 2%
Kana spelling is common in casual writing and when the kanji is considered difficult.
Kanji 候 climate, season, weather Similar words 寄き 生せい 寄生 is a more formal or biological term for parasitism, whereas 居候 is a colloquial, everyday word for a human freeloader.
居い 座すわ る 居座る means to stay in a place and refuse to leave, often implying stubbornness, while 居候 focuses on living at someone else's expense without necessarily refusing to leave.
Etymology Compound of 居 (i, 'to be, to stay') and 候 (sōrō, an old humble auxiliary verb). Originally referred to a servant or retainer who lived in their master's house, later shifting to mean a person who lives in another's home without paying.
