fleeting life; transient world; floating world
Buddhist-influenced term for the impermanent, ever-changing world of human existence. Often associated with the Edo-period pleasure-seeking culture (ukiyo-e, etc.).
The obligations of this fleeting world are hard to bear.
浮世絵は江戸時代の浮世を描いている。
Ukiyo-e depict the floating world of the Edo period.
sad world; world of grief and worry
Only when written 憂き世
Emphasizes the sorrowful aspect of life; often written 憂き世. More literary and less common in modern speech.
Though it's the way of this sad world, it's nothing but hardship.
this world; the world of the living; present life
Refers to the mundane, everyday world as opposed to the afterlife or a spiritual realm. Often used in contrast with あの世.
I have no lingering attachment to this world.
The boundary between this world and the next.
red-light districts; pleasure quarters
Specifically refers to the entertainment and brothel districts of the Edo period, a subset of the broader 'floating world' concept.
Yoshiwara was Edo's foremost pleasure quarter.
Standard modern spelling for the 'floating world' and related senses. High-frequency in news contexts.
Variant with okurigana; less common but still encountered.
Specifically used for the 'sad world' sense, emphasizing grief and worry.
Originally a Buddhist term (憂き世) meaning 'world of suffering', later reinterpreted as 浮世 ('floating world') with a more hedonistic connotation during the Edo period. The reading うきよ is from 憂き (sad) + 世 (world).