Usage patterns 〈 事こと 〉 の 温おん 床しょう となる to become a hotbed/breeding ground for something (usually negative)
This area has become a breeding ground for crime.
温床おんしょう を 提供きょうきょう する to provide a breeding ground (for something negative)
The opaque system provides a breeding ground for fraud.
温おん 床しょう を 作つく る to make a hotbed (for growing seedlings)
I made a hotbed to grow the seedlings.
Kanji 床 bed, counter for beds, floor Related words 巣窟 pictures a literal den or hideout where criminals or bad actors gather, while 温床 pictures the conditions that let something negative grow and spread.
発生源 is a neutral, technical term for the point where a problem originates, whereas 温床 carries the metaphor of an environment nurturing that problem.
土壌 in its metaphorical sense and 温床 both mean 'breeding ground', but 温床 is used almost exclusively for negative things (crime, corruption) while 土壌 can also describe conditions that foster positive growth.
温床 is a heated seedbed (often used metaphorically for a breeding ground of vice or trouble), while 苗床 is the more neutral term for any bed used to raise seedlings.
Etymology Compound of 温 (warm) and 床 (bed, floor). The literal agricultural meaning 'heated seedbed' extends metaphorically to any environment that fosters growth, especially of undesirable things.
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