"素人" meaning in Japanese

See 素人 in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Noun

IPA: [ɕiɾo̞ːto̞], [ɕiɾo̞to̞], [ɕiɾa̠bʲito̞] Forms: 素人 [canonical] (ruby: 素(しろ), 人(うと)), 素人 [canonical] (ruby: 素(しろ), 人(と)), 素人 [canonical] (ruby: 素(しら), 人(びと)), shirōto [romanization], shiroto [romanization], shirabito [romanization]
Etymology: Compound of 素(しろ) (shiro, “plain, undecorated”) + 人(うと) (-uto, “person”). The term 人 (hito, “person”) appears in various older compounds with a root form of 人 (*puto → *buto → *udo, *puto → *futo → *uto). This form is never seen in isolation, and it often undergoes further phonetic changes to combine with preceding vowels. Compare the formation of 仲人 (nakōdo), from naka + udo; 旅人 (tabiudo), from tabi + udo. Etymology templates: {{ja-compound|素|しろ|人|-うと|sort=くろ.うと|t1=plain, undecorated|t2=person}} 素(しろ) (shiro, “plain, undecorated”) + 人(うと) (-uto, “person”) Head templates: {{ja-noun|しろうと|しろと|しらびと}} 素(しろ)人(うと) or 素(しろ)人(と) or 素(しら)人(びと) • (shirōto or shiroto or shirabito)
  1. amateur, novice Synonyms: 初心者
    Sense id: en-素人-ja-noun-7DXWgZoF Categories (other): Japanese entries with incorrect language header, Japanese links with redundant alt parameters, Japanese links with redundant wikilinks, Japanese terms read with kun'yomi, Japanese terms suffixed with 人 read as うと, Japanese terms with 2 kanji, Japanese terms with Atamadaka pitch accent (Tōkyō), Japanese terms with Nakadaka pitch accent (Tōkyō), Japanese terms with multiple readings, Japanese terms with non-redundant non-automated sortkeys, Japanese terms with redundant sortkeys, Japanese terms with rendaku Disambiguation of Japanese entries with incorrect language header: 48 34 19 Disambiguation of Japanese links with redundant alt parameters: 54 27 19 Disambiguation of Japanese links with redundant wikilinks: 35 38 27 Disambiguation of Japanese terms read with kun'yomi: 52 30 17 Disambiguation of Japanese terms suffixed with 人 read as うと: 53 30 17 Disambiguation of Japanese terms with 2 kanji: 50 31 19 Disambiguation of Japanese terms with Atamadaka pitch accent (Tōkyō): 44 32 24 Disambiguation of Japanese terms with Nakadaka pitch accent (Tōkyō): 44 32 24 Disambiguation of Japanese terms with multiple readings: 53 29 18 Disambiguation of Japanese terms with non-redundant non-automated sortkeys: 54 28 18 Disambiguation of Japanese terms with redundant sortkeys: 50 29 21 Disambiguation of Japanese terms with rendaku: 51 31 18
  2. respectable woman (one who is not a prostitute, geisha, or hostess)
    Sense id: en-素人-ja-noun-0p5HF4UL Categories (other): Japanese links with redundant wikilinks, People Disambiguation of Japanese links with redundant wikilinks: 35 38 27 Disambiguation of People: 0 100 0
  3. (archaic, dialectal, Kyōto) unlicensed prostitute Tags: archaic, dialectal
    Sense id: en-素人-ja-noun-n3CUqssz Categories (other): Kyōto Japanese, Japanese links with redundant wikilinks Disambiguation of Japanese links with redundant wikilinks: 35 38 27
     
{
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "素",
        "2": "しろ",
        "3": "人",
        "4": "-うと",
        "sort": "くろ.うと",
        "t1": "plain, undecorated",
        "t2": "person"
      },
      "expansion": "素(しろ) (shiro, “plain, undecorated”) + 人(うと) (-uto, “person”)",
      "name": "ja-compound"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "Compound of 素(しろ) (shiro, “plain, undecorated”) + 人(うと) (-uto, “person”).\nThe term 人 (hito, “person”) appears in various older compounds with a root form of 人 (*puto → *buto → *udo, *puto → *futo → *uto). This form is never seen in isolation, and it often undergoes further phonetic changes to combine with preceding vowels. Compare the formation of 仲人 (nakōdo), from naka + udo; 旅人 (tabiudo), from tabi + udo.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "素人",
      "ruby": [
        [
          "素",
          "しろ"
        ],
        [
          "人",
          "うと"
        ]
      ],
      "tags": [
        "canonical"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "素人",
      "ruby": [
        [
          "素",
          "しろ"
        ],
        [
          "人",
          "と"
        ]
      ],
      "tags": [
        "canonical"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "素人",
      "ruby": [
        [
          "素",
          "しら"
        ],
        [
          "人",
          "びと"
        ]
      ],
      "tags": [
        "canonical"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "shirōto",
      "tags": [
        "romanization"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "shiroto",
      "tags": [
        "romanization"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "shirabito",
      "tags": [
        "romanization"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "しろうと",
        "2": "しろと",
        "3": "しらびと"
      },
      "expansion": "素(しろ)人(うと) or 素(しろ)人(と) or 素(しら)人(びと) • (shirōto or shiroto or shirabito)",
      "name": "ja-noun"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "Japanese",
  "lang_code": "ja",
  "pos": "noun",
  "senses": [
    {
      "antonyms": [
        {
          "word": "玄人"
        }
      ],
      "categories": [
        {
          "_dis": "48 34 19",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Japanese entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "54 27 19",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Japanese links with redundant alt parameters",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "35 38 27",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Japanese links with redundant wikilinks",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "52 30 17",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Japanese terms read with kun'yomi",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "53 30 17",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Japanese terms suffixed with 人 read as うと",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "50 31 19",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Japanese terms with 2 kanji",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "44 32 24",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Japanese terms with Atamadaka pitch accent (Tōkyō)",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "44 32 24",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Japanese terms with Nakadaka pitch accent (Tōkyō)",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "53 29 18",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Japanese terms with multiple readings",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "54 28 18",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Japanese terms with non-redundant non-automated sortkeys",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "50 29 21",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Japanese terms with redundant sortkeys",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "51 31 18",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Japanese terms with rendaku",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "amateur, novice"
      ],
      "id": "en-素人-ja-noun-7DXWgZoF",
      "links": [
        [
          "amateur",
          "amateur"
        ],
        [
          "novice",
          "novice"
        ]
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "初心者"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "_dis": "35 38 27",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Japanese links with redundant wikilinks",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "0 100 0",
          "kind": "other",
          "langcode": "ja",
          "name": "People",
          "orig": "ja:People",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "respectable woman (one who is not a prostitute, geisha, or hostess)"
      ],
      "id": "en-素人-ja-noun-0p5HF4UL",
      "links": [
        [
          "respectable",
          "respectable"
        ],
        [
          "woman",
          "woman"
        ]
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Kyōto Japanese",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "35 38 27",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Japanese links with redundant wikilinks",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "unlicensed prostitute"
      ],
      "id": "en-素人-ja-noun-n3CUqssz",
      "links": [
        [
          "unlicensed",
          "unlicensed"
        ],
        [
          "prostitute",
          "prostitute"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(archaic, dialectal, Kyōto) unlicensed prostitute"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "archaic",
        "dialectal"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "other": "しろーと"
    },
    {
      "other": "しろーと"
    },
    {
      "ipa": "[ɕiɾo̞ːto̞]"
    },
    {
      "other": "しろと"
    },
    {
      "ipa": "[ɕiɾo̞to̞]"
    },
    {
      "ipa": "[ɕiɾa̠bʲito̞]"
    }
  ],
  "word": "素人"
}

{
  "categories": [
    "Japanese compound terms",
    "Japanese entries with incorrect language header",
    "Japanese lemmas",
    "Japanese links with redundant alt parameters",
    "Japanese links with redundant wikilinks",
    "Japanese nouns",
    "Japanese terms read with kun'yomi",
    "Japanese terms spelled with fifth grade kanji",
    "Japanese terms spelled with first grade kanji",
    "Japanese terms spelled with 人 read as うと",
    "Japanese terms spelled with 人 read as と",
    "Japanese terms spelled with 人 read as ひと",
    "Japanese terms spelled with 素 read as しろ",
    "Japanese terms suffixed with 人 read as うと",
    "Japanese terms with 2 kanji",
    "Japanese terms with Atamadaka pitch accent (Tōkyō)",
    "Japanese terms with IPA pronunciation",
    "Japanese terms with IPA pronunciation missing pitch accent",
    "Japanese terms with IPA pronunciation with pitch accent",
    "Japanese terms with Nakadaka pitch accent (Tōkyō)",
    "Japanese terms with multiple readings",
    "Japanese terms with non-redundant non-automated sortkeys",
    "Japanese terms with redundant sortkeys",
    "Japanese terms with rendaku",
    "Pages with 2 entries",
    "Pages with entries",
    "ja:People"
  ],
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "素",
        "2": "しろ",
        "3": "人",
        "4": "-うと",
        "sort": "くろ.うと",
        "t1": "plain, undecorated",
        "t2": "person"
      },
      "expansion": "素(しろ) (shiro, “plain, undecorated”) + 人(うと) (-uto, “person”)",
      "name": "ja-compound"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "Compound of 素(しろ) (shiro, “plain, undecorated”) + 人(うと) (-uto, “person”).\nThe term 人 (hito, “person”) appears in various older compounds with a root form of 人 (*puto → *buto → *udo, *puto → *futo → *uto). This form is never seen in isolation, and it often undergoes further phonetic changes to combine with preceding vowels. Compare the formation of 仲人 (nakōdo), from naka + udo; 旅人 (tabiudo), from tabi + udo.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "素人",
      "ruby": [
        [
          "素",
          "しろ"
        ],
        [
          "人",
          "うと"
        ]
      ],
      "tags": [
        "canonical"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "素人",
      "ruby": [
        [
          "素",
          "しろ"
        ],
        [
          "人",
          "と"
        ]
      ],
      "tags": [
        "canonical"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "素人",
      "ruby": [
        [
          "素",
          "しら"
        ],
        [
          "人",
          "びと"
        ]
      ],
      "tags": [
        "canonical"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "shirōto",
      "tags": [
        "romanization"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "shiroto",
      "tags": [
        "romanization"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "shirabito",
      "tags": [
        "romanization"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "しろうと",
        "2": "しろと",
        "3": "しらびと"
      },
      "expansion": "素(しろ)人(うと) or 素(しろ)人(と) or 素(しら)人(びと) • (shirōto or shiroto or shirabito)",
      "name": "ja-noun"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "Japanese",
  "lang_code": "ja",
  "pos": "noun",
  "senses": [
    {
      "antonyms": [
        {
          "word": "玄人"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "amateur, novice"
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "amateur",
          "amateur"
        ],
        [
          "novice",
          "novice"
        ]
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "初心者"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "glosses": [
        "respectable woman (one who is not a prostitute, geisha, or hostess)"
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "respectable",
          "respectable"
        ],
        [
          "woman",
          "woman"
        ]
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        "Japanese dialectal terms",
        "Japanese terms with archaic senses",
        "Kyōto Japanese"
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "unlicensed prostitute"
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "unlicensed",
          "unlicensed"
        ],
        [
          "prostitute",
          "prostitute"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(archaic, dialectal, Kyōto) unlicensed prostitute"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "archaic",
        "dialectal"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "other": "しろーと"
    },
    {
      "other": "しろーと"
    },
    {
      "ipa": "[ɕiɾo̞ːto̞]"
    },
    {
      "other": "しろと"
    },
    {
      "ipa": "[ɕiɾo̞to̞]"
    },
    {
      "ipa": "[ɕiɾa̠bʲito̞]"
    }
  ],
  "word": "素人"
}

Download raw JSONL data for 素人 meaning in Japanese (3.4kB)

{
  "called_from": "form_descriptions/1831",
  "msg": "unrecognized sense qualifier: archaic, dialectal, Kyōto",
  "path": [
    "素人"
  ],
  "section": "Japanese",
  "subsection": "noun",
  "title": "素人",
  "trace": ""
}

{
  "called_from": "form_descriptions/1831",
  "msg": "unrecognized sense qualifier: archaic, dialectal, Kyōto",
  "path": [
    "素人"
  ],
  "section": "Japanese",
  "subsection": "noun",
  "title": "素人",
  "trace": ""
}

This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable Japanese dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2025-11-27 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2025-11-20 using wiktextract (5887622 and c6a903f). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.