limit · shore

1. Origins, structure, and basic meaning

• Structure: 涯 has 11 strokes and appears in words for the span of a life and one's circumstances.
• Basic usage: 生涯 is read しょうがい, and 境涯 is read きょうがい.

2. Common pitfalls and similar expressions

• A lifetime and circumstances
  • 生涯を教育に捧げた means devoting one's life to education.
  • 厳しい境涯 refers to difficult circumstances, so 境涯 should not be reduced to a time span meaning one's whole life.
• Continuing despite hardship
  • 厳しい境涯にあっても means even in difficult circumstances. The following 学び続けた describes continuing to learn despite that situation.