裕福
解説 Definition
生活に不自由がなく十分な収入や貯えのある状態を意味し、金銭的に恵まれていることを表す丁寧な言い回しです。
If someone is well off, they have enough money to live comfortably and do not usually worry about basic costs. It is commonly used to describe people or families with a good financial situation. It often suggests comfort and security, not necessarily great wealth.
覚え方のコツ Memory Tip
well は「良い」、off は better off / worse off と同じく「ある状態に置かれている」と考えると、well off で「暮らし向きが良い」とまとまります。rich ほど露骨に「金持ち」と言い切らず、生活に余裕がある感じのやわらかい表現。be well off, financially well off, a well-off family の形で覚えると使いやすく、単に happy や healthy の well とは別物だと切り分けると混乱しません。
Think of `well` as "good" and `off` as a person's situation, like `better off` or `worse off`. So `well off` means someone is in a good life situation, especially with money. Remember common patterns like `be well off` and `a well-off family`. It sounds softer than `rich`.
例文
My grandparents are well off and donate regularly to the local museum.
祖父母は裕福で、地元の博物館に定期的に寄付している。
Being well off lets her take time off work to volunteer.
裕福であることで、彼女は仕事を休んでボランティアに参加できる。
well off の類義語・関連語
well off の語源・成り立ち Etymology
wellは古英語wel（良く・十分に）、offは「離れた状態」を示す副詞。「良い状態に置かれている」→「裕福な」の意。関連語：well-being（幸福）、welfare（福祉）。offが状況・状態を表す用法はbetter offやworse offにも見られ、暮らし向きを語る英語特有の表現。
This phrase is made from Old English `well`, meaning "well" or "in a good way," and `off`, an adverb meaning "away" or "in a certain condition." In English, `off` can describe someone's situation, as in `better off` or `worse off`. So `well off` grew from the idea of being placed in a good condition to meaning financially comfortable.
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