93986
I can see the definitions which include the easiest interpretation of this
world and the other world but I'm reading a story (very slowly and with
difficulty but how else can you learn) <https://ncode.syosetu.com/n8017hi/20/>
and they're currently in the other world so from their perspective would この世
just definitely mean the world of the living or would it mean the world
they're currently in or could it be either contextually?
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2022-04-04T21:33:42.890
93983
2022-04-05T01:51:05.760
50994
question
word-usage
How specific are この世 and あの世?
They are fairly specific words, but their meanings still depend on the
context.

Normally, この世【よ】 is a compound noun that refers to our world on the earth (aka
地上, 人間界), and あの世【よ】 refers to the heaven/hell, land of the dead, afterlife,
or something similar. Since these are set phrases, one may say they should
always refer to the same things regardless of where you are at now.

That said, the meaning of この/あの is not completely lost, so when you are
outside the human world, この世 _may_ refer to a spiritual world, possibly as a
wordplay or a joke. If that world is similar to our human world, it's more
likely that it is called この世 by the residents of that world. I expect a
careful author would make it possible to determine which meaning is intended
by the context in such a complicated situation.

If someone said この世界【せかい】, it's not an idiomatic set phrase, so it should
always mean " _this_ world" the speaker is currently in. Likewise, この世/あの世 is
usually not used in typical _isekai_ stories. A person transferred to a
fantasy _isekai_ would refer to the two worlds like この世界 ("this world here"),
あっちの世界 ("that/their world; the other world"), 元の世界 ("the original world"),
etc.
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2022-04-04T21:50:17.270
93986
2022-04-05T01:51:05.760
2022-04-05T01:51:05.760
5010
5010
93983
answer
Looking at the usage in the link given in your question, 「あの世」denotes the
spiritual world. 「この世」would mean the world of the living.
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2022-04-04T22:29:04.123
93994
2022-04-04T22:29:04.123
50991
93983
answer