Japanese word

路上

Pronunciation

Romajirojō

Meaning

  • nounon the street

Example

路上で歌います。ro jō de uta i ma su

I sing on the street.

Illustration for 路上 (on the street)

More examples

雨の夜、路上に落ちていた財布を交番へ届けました。ame no yoru ro jō ni o chi te i ta sai fu o kō ban e todo ke ma shi ta

On a rainy night, I took a wallet that had fallen on the street to a police box.

Core concept

Marks a place as being on a public street or road rather than inside a building.

Common phrases

  • 路上ライブro jō ra i bu

    street performance

  • 路上に駐車するro jō ni chū sha su ru

    park on the street

  • 路上で撮影するro jō de satsu ei su ru

    film on the street

  • 路上で生活するro jō de sei katsu su ru

    live on the street

Similar words

街頭gaitō: A public place along a street where people gather or activities take place.
道端michibata: The edge of a road or path.
路傍robō: The side of a road, especially the space beside the roadway.

Definition in Japanese

道路や街路の上にあること。また、建物内でなく、屋外の通行空間であること。dō ro ya gai ro no ue ni a ru ko to ma ta tate mono nai de na ku oku gai no tsū kō kū kan de a ru ko to

Word origin

The Sino-Japanese compound 路上 (rojō) combines 路 (ro, "road") and 上 (jō, "on or above") to describe a place on a road or street.

Usage tips

  • In Japanese, 路上 (rojō) commonly appears in contexts such as street performances, while English "on the street" can also suggest homelessness depending on the context.

Other meanings

  • in the streetnoun
  • on the roadnoun

Word lists with this word