世

• Temporal: A unit of time—specifically a generation (traditionally reckoned as thirty years)—extending to "era" or "epoch."
• Existential/Spatial: The realm inhabited by a generation; denotes "the world," "the human realm," or "society."

// Cosmological: In post-Han texts, particularly those influenced by Buddhist translations of the Sanskrit //loka*, refers to the physical or metaphysical universe/cosmos.

• Classifier: Used to count generations.
• Reduplication: Forms such as 世世 indicate perpetuity or recurrence ("generation after generation," "forever").
• Compounds: Frequently paired with spatial markers (e.g., 世上) to specify "on earth" or "in the world."

• 世 vs. 代: Both may be translated as "generation," but they carry different nuances. 世 emphasizes the span of time or the general condition of an era; 代 emphasizes succession, replacement, or the act of one entity taking the place of another (e.g., transition of power or lineage).

• Early texts: Usage is more likely to be temporal (generation, lifetime).
• Later/Buddhist-influenced texts: Usage is more likely to function as an existential container (the world, the cosmos).