無む間けん地じ獄ごく

also: むげんじごく

む

け

ん

じ

ご

く

Meanings

noun

Avici hell; hell of uninterrupted suffering

yojijukugo (four-character idiom)Buddhism

Buddhist term for the eighth and most painful of the eight hot hells, where suffering is continuous without pause. Also used figuratively for an unbearable situation.

無む間けん地じ獄ごくに落おちるような苦くるしみだ。
It's suffering like falling into the Avici hell.
彼かれはその状じょう況きょうを無む間けん地じ獄ごくに例たとえた。
He likened the situation to the hell of uninterrupted suffering.

See all 7 example sentences ›

Kanji

無nothingness, none, ain't
間interval, space
地ground, earth
獄prison, jail
限limit, restrict, to best of ability

Related words

地じ獄ごく
General term for hell or any hell realm in Buddhism; 無間地獄 is a specific, extreme hell within that category.
八はち大だい地じ獄ごく
The eight great hells of Buddhist cosmology; 無間地獄 is the eighth and most severe.

Built from

無む間けん+地じ獄ごく

Written forms

無間地獄
- むけんじごく
  Standard kanji spelling for the Buddhist term.
- むげんじごく
無む限げん地じ獄ごく
irregular kanji usage
Irregular kanji usage that substitutes 限 for 間; the reading むげんじごく is common in this spelling.
むげんじごく
Kana spelling reflecting the common むげんじごく reading; often used in explanations or when the kanji are unclear.

Etymology

From Buddhist terminology, translating Sanskrit Avīci, meaning 'without waves' or 'uninterrupted'. The kanji 無間 literally means 'no interval', reflecting the continuous nature of suffering in this hell.