今世 (jīn shì) — this life (often in religious/philosophical contexts); the contemporary age, the present era

Definition

今世 pairs with 来世 in Buddhist/philosophical talk ('this life' vs 'the next'), and also means 'the present era'. Synonym 今生 is common in religious contexts; 当代 is used for the modern era.

noun
this life (often in religious/philosophical contexts)the contemporary agethe present era

Examples

  • 今世。
    Fó jiào rèn wéi jīn shì de yīn guǒ huì yǐng xiǎng lái shì.
    Buddhism believes that karma in this life affects the next life.
  • 今世。
    Tā jīn shì zuì dà de xīn yuàn jiù shì zhǎo dào shī sàn de ér zi.
    His greatest wish in this life is to find his lost son.
  • 今世，。
    jīn shì Kē jì fā zhǎn xùn sù, xìn xī chuán bō jí kuài.
    In the contemporary age, technology develops rapidly and information spreads extremely fast.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

今jīnpresent
世shìlife; age

今 present and 世 life or age combine to mean this life or the present era.

Characters in this word

An abstract idea shown by a mark or a diagram rather than by a picture of an object.

One explanation sees the shape as an upside-down mouth with a line below it, giving the idea of not speaking.

Open 今 →

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 世 →

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