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身の上 (minoue) Japanese meaning: one's circumstances | Kotomora

身みの上うえ

み

の

う

え

Common word›JLPTN1›Freq.FrequencyTop 50,000

Meanings

1

expression, noun

one's circumstances; one's personal history; one's station in life

Refers to a person's overall life situation, background, or personal history, often used when discussing someone's past or current condition.

彼かれは自じ分ぶんの身みの上うえを詳くわしく

話はな

し

た

。

He talked in detail about his personal history.

身みの上うえ相そう談だんを受うける。

I receive personal-life consultations.

2

expression, noun

one's lot; one's destiny; one's future

Focuses on what fate or the future holds for a person; often carries a slightly literary or reflective tone.

身みの上うえを嘆なげいても仕し方かたがない。
There's no use lamenting one's lot in life.

Kanji

身somebody, person, one's station in life
上above, up

Related words

境きょう遇ぐうN1sense 1
境遇 emphasizes a person's social environment or living conditions, while 身の上 covers the broader sweep of someone's personal history and circumstances.
運うん命めいN2sense 2
運命 is a general word for fate or destiny in the abstract, while 身の上 ties that sense of fate specifically to an individual's personal life story.
生おい立たちN1sense 1
生い立ち focuses narrowly on how someone was raised and grew up, whereas 身の上 can include present circumstances and future fate as well as past history.
身みの回まわりN2
身の上 refers to one's personal circumstances or life story, while 身の回り focuses on physical belongings and immediate surroundings.

Don't confuse with

身しん上しょう
身上 (しんしょう) written without の means one's property, fortune, or a personal matter of importance, quite different from 身の上's sense of one's life circumstances or fate.

Built from

身み+上うえ

Written forms

身みの上うえUsage100%
Standard kanji spelling; the reading みのうえ is unambiguous.
ミノウエUsage<1%

Etymology

Compound of 身 (み, 'body, oneself') and 上 (うえ, 'above, on'), literally 'on one's person', which developed into the meaning of one's personal circumstances or life story.