being
存在
解説 Definition
生きているもの、または存在することを表す。human beingで「人間」という意味になる。
A living creature or an entity regarded as existing, especially in expressions such as human being and living being. It can also denote the state or fact of existing, although the examples here primarily use the countable sense “creature.”
覚え方のコツ Memory Tip
be「存在する」に -ing が付いた形なので、「存在しているもの」という中心イメージを持つと覚えやすい。human being「人間」、living being「生き物」が代表的な組み合わせで、person よりも「一つの生命・存在」という面に注目する表現だと覚えると定着しやすい。
Start with be, “to exist,” and add -ing: a being is something that exists. This core image makes human being easy to remember as an individual human viewed as a living existence, while living being refers more broadly to a living creature. A strange being from space is an unknown entity or creature, not merely a person. Compared with person, being puts more attention on existence or life itself and can therefore include humans, animals, imagined creatures, and other entities. In this noun use, it is countable when it means a creature: one being, several beings.
例文
Every human being needs clean water.
すべての人間にきれいな水が必要だ。
The story is about a strange being from space.
その物語は宇宙から来た不思議な生き物についてのものだ。
We should respect all living beings.
私たちはすべての生き物を大切にすべきだ。
being の類義語・関連語
being の語源・成り立ち Etymology
古英語の動詞 bēon「存在する、〜である」に、動作や状態を表す接尾辞 -ing が付いた形です。be の現在分詞として使われるほか、「存在」や「生き物」を表す名詞としても定着しました。
Being was formed from be with the suffix -ing. Be continues Old English bēon and other forms that merged into the modern verb’s irregular conjugation. The -ing form first functions grammatically as the present participle or verbal noun of be. From the idea of “existing,” being became an established noun for existence itself and, in countable use, for something that exists, especially a living creature or person.
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