Boundaries and worlds with 界
The kanji 界 means boundary, realm, or world. It points to divisions that separate one area from another.
It further extends to fields of activity, visible limits, other realms, and the worlds people belong to or imagine.
Etymology
界 is a phono-semantic compound built from 田 (field) and 介 as the sound component, with the original sense of boundary lines dividing fields.
Human and Social Worlds
世界 (World)
世界 means the world, the globe, or a world as a realm of experience. It can refer to physical reality, society at large, or a distinct imagined world.
It combines 世 (society) with 界 (world) to show the world of human society.
Alicia and Akari visit an island that’s modeled after part of Japan back on Earth. There, an elderly local woman tells the two of the fox spirits that visit the human world there. Akari is excited at the prospect of meeting one, but the old woman gives her a warning: on rare occasion, a fox will take a person back home with them.
- おばあさん:
- 「神さまの世界と人間の世界は違うやさかい」
- “The god world and the human world are different.”
- 「連れて行かれたらあかん」
- “Therefore, it is bad to follow along.”
やさかい has a meaning like だから.
Limits and Boundaries
限界 (Limit)
限界 means a limit, boundary, or breaking point. It refers to the line beyond which something cannot continue, increase, or endure.
The word works for physical endurance, ability, time, systems, and abstract constraints.
It combines 限 (limit) with 界 (boundary) to show a boundary line of possibility.
Mina wants to hurry and eat her lunch, as she’s very hungry. Yukari reminders her they still have one more class first.
- ミナ:
- 「もう限界だよ！こんなんじゃ次の授業、集中できないよー。」
- “I'm already at my limit! As things are, come next class I won't be able to concentrate.”
Other Realms
他界 (Passing away)
他界 means passing away or departing this world. The idea is of going to another realm.
It combines 他 (other) with 界 (world) to show the other world.
Kogoro takes a client to the home of someone she’d be communicating with via pagers. They show the household family a music box that was left to the client by her correspondence partner. The music it plays reminds the homeowner of the koto his mother used to play.
- 小五郎:
- 「母さんってもしかしてあのお写真の…」
- “By "Mom", could that be the one in that photo…?”
- 常雄:
- 「ええ… 父の横の写真が三年前に他界した母の春菜です…」
- “Yes... The photo beside my father's is my mother, Haruna, who passed away three years ago...”
異世界 (Other world)
異世界 means another world or otherworld, especially a fantastical world separate from ordinary reality.
In modern Japanese it is strongly associated with fantasy and stories in which someone is transported to or reborn in a different world.
It combines 異 (other) with 世 (world) and 界 (boundary or world) to show another world separate from ordinary reality.
Zen lived in a glittering, idyllic town until his family moved. During his first day of school, he found everyone to be glaring and rugged. Rather than being gentle and playful, his classmates sought a brawl and chased after him.
- 禅:
- 「ここは異世界だ」
- “This is another world.”
- 「異世界に迷い込んだに違いない」
- “I must have wandered into another world.”