浮ふ浪ろう者しゃ

ふ

ろ

う

しゃ

Common wordJLPTN1

Meanings

1

noun

vagrant; homeless person; tramp

Now deprecated in official contexts; ホームレス is the modern neutral term. 浮浪者 can sound dated or slightly pejorative.

Usage patterns

〈場ば所しょ〉に浮ふ浪ろう者しゃがいるthere is a vagrant/homeless person in 〈place〉
公こう園えんのベンチに浮ふ浪ろう者しゃがいた。
There was a homeless person on the park bench.
浮ふ浪ろう者しゃになるto become homeless/a vagrant
仕し事ごとを失うしなって浮ふ浪ろう者しゃになった人ひともいる。
Some people became homeless after losing their jobs.

Kanji

浮floating, float, rise to surface
浪wandering, waves, billows
者someone, person

Related words

ホームレス
ホームレス is the modern, neutral term for a homeless person, while 浮浪者 is an older word that can sound dated or pejorative.
路ろ上じょう生せい活かつ者しゃ
路上生活者 is a more descriptive, neutral bureaucratic term for someone living on the streets, whereas 浮浪者 carries an old-fashioned, slightly negative tone.
バガボンド
浮浪者 usually implies a homeless or vagrant person with negative social connotations, whereas バガボンド can suggest an adventurous or romantic drifter.
乞こ食じきN1
浮浪者 refers to a vagrant or tramp without a fixed home, a more neutral term than 乞食, which specifically emphasizes the act of begging.

Counted with

人にん
The everyday counter for people: 一人 (ひとり), 二人 (ふたり), 三人 (さんにん).
名めいN2
Used as a somewhat formal way to count 浮浪者 (vagrants).

Built from

浮ふ浪ろう+者しゃ

Etymology

Compound of 浮浪 (ふろう, 'wandering, vagrancy') + 者 (しゃ, 'person'). The exact historical derivation is uncertain, but the kanji literally mean 'floating/wandering person'.