浮うき草くさ稼か業ぎょう

う

き

く

さ

か

ぎょ

う

Meanings

1

noun

precarious trade; unstable occupation; itinerant trade

yojijukugo (four-character idiom)

A yojijukugo describing a livelihood that is as rootless and drifting as floating weeds, often implying instability and lack of security.

彼かれは浮うき草くさ稼か業ぎょうで、毎まい年とし仕し事ごとが変かわる。
He has a precarious trade, and his job changes every year.

芸げい能のうの世せ界かいは浮うき草くさ稼か業ぎょうだと言いわれる。

The entertainment world is said to be an unstable occupation.

Written forms

浮き草稼業
- うきくさかぎょう
  Standard kanji spelling for this yojijukugo.
- うきぐさかぎょう
浮草稼業
- うきくさかぎょう
  Variant spelling without okurigana; less common but still used.
- うきぐさかぎょう
うきぐさかぎょう

Kanji

浮floating, float, rise to surface
草grass, weeds, herbs
稼earnings, work, earn money
業business, vocation, arts

Similar words

不ふ安あん定てい
不安定 is a general adjective for 'unstable', while 浮き草稼業 specifically refers to an occupation or trade that is unstable and drifting.
渡わたり鳥どり
渡り鳥 means 'migratory bird' and can metaphorically describe a person who moves from job to job, but 浮き草稼業 emphasizes the precarious, rootless nature of the work itself.

Etymology

Compound of 浮き草 (floating weed) and 稼業 (trade, occupation), literally 'floating-weed trade'. The image of rootless, drifting weeds conveys the instability and transience of such work.