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道Nihongo Path
俗

俗·vulgar, customs, manners

On-yomi
ぞく
Kun-yomi
none

By Nihongo PathUpdated

Stroke order

Write it in this order; the numbers mark where each stroke starts.

Common words

WordReadingMeaning
俗語ぞくごslang, colloquialism
民俗みんぞくfolk customs, folklore
風俗ふうぞくmanners and customs of a time
世俗せぞくthe secular world, worldly things
俗にぞくにcommonly, as people say

Example sentences

  1. この言い方は俗語なので、作文では使わない。

    このいいかたはぞくごなので、さくぶんではつかわない。

    This expression is slang, so don't use it in an essay.

  2. 江戸時代の風俗を描いた絵だ。

    えどじだいのふうぞくをえがいたえだ。

    It is a painting depicting the manners of the Edo period.

Similar-looking kanji

Do not confuse these on the exam.

Common mistakes

  • 民俗 (みんぞく, folk customs) and 民族 (みんぞく, an ethnic group) sound identical — check the second kanji.
  • 俗 can mean 'vulgar', but in 民俗 and 風俗 it simply means 'of the common people'.

Memory aid

Picture it

A person 亻 down in the valley 谷: the ordinary people and the everyday customs they live by.

Vocabulary using this kanji

Quick check

1 / 2Multiple choiceDifficulty 4 of 5

What does the kanji 俗 mean?