敦とん朴ぼく

Meanings

archaic

Archaic adjectival noun describing a person or character as sincere, plain, and without affectation. Not used in modern everyday Japanese; encountered only in classical texts or literary contexts.

古こ典てん文ぶん学がくでは、敦とん朴ぼくな人ひと柄がらが理り想そうとされることがある。
In classical literature, an honest and simple personality is sometimes held up as an ideal.

Kanji

敦industry, kindliness
朴crude, simple, plain
惇sincere, kind, considerate
樸bark of a tree

Related words

素そ朴ぼく
Modern common word for 'simple, naive, unsophisticated'; 敦朴 is its archaic, more morally tinged counterpart.
質しつ朴ぼく
Also archaic, meaning 'simple and honest'; very similar to 敦朴 but even rarer.

Written forms

敦とん朴ぼく
Archaic kanji spelling; the word is rarely used in modern Japanese.
惇とん朴ぼく
Variant kanji spelling; equally archaic.
惇とん樸ぼく
Variant kanji spelling using 樸 instead of 朴.
敦とん樸ぼく
Variant kanji spelling using 樸 instead of 朴.

Etymology

The exact derivation is uncertain; the kanji 敦 (sincere, kind) and 朴 (simple, plain) combine to suggest an unadorned, honest nature. The word is archaic and its historical origin is not clearly documented.