漫そぞろ言ごと

そ

ぞ

ろ

ご

と

Meanings

Uncommon literary word for idle, aimless, or vague talk; often carries a poetic or old-fashioned feel. In modern Japanese, とりとめのない話 or たわごと are more common.

老ろう人じんはそぞろごとを繰くり返かえすばかりだった。
The old man just kept repeating rambling talk.
彼かれの話はなしはそぞろごとで、要よう点てんがつかめなかった。
His talk was vague remarks, and I couldn't grasp the point.

Kanji

漫cartoon, involuntarily, unrestrained
言say, word

Related words

たわごと
More common and direct word for nonsense or foolish talk; そぞろごと is rarer and more literary, emphasizing aimlessness rather than foolishness.
とりとめのない話はなし
Common modern phrase for rambling, disconnected talk; そぞろごと is an older, more compact equivalent.

Written forms

漫そぞろ言ごと
Literary kanji spelling; the word itself is uncommon and mostly found in older or poetic contexts.
そぞろ言ごと
Mixed kana-kanji spelling sometimes seen in older texts.

Etymology

The derivation is uncertain. 漫ろ (そぞろ) is an old adverb/noun meaning 'aimlessly' or 'without reason', and 言 (こと > ごと) means 'word' or 'talk'. The compound likely arose in classical Japanese for idle or vague speech.