Translation guide
The quality of being shockingly evil or wicked. In Japanese, this concept is often expressed through adjectives describing the act or person, nouns for the abstract quality, or set phrases emphasizing extreme moral repulsiveness.
To say that a crime, deed, or behavior is shockingly evil or atrocious.
The most common and direct adjective for heinous crimes or acts. Often used in news and formal contexts.
He committed a heinous crime.
Emphasizes cruelty and brutality. Suitable for acts that are both evil and merciless.
The murder was extremely heinous.
A strong, emphatic compound meaning 'atrocious and inhuman'. Used in formal or dramatic contexts.
Heinous acts are unforgivable.
To refer to the concept or state of being heinous, often as a noun.
The noun form of 凶悪, directly meaning 'heinousness' or 'atrociousness'.
People trembled at the heinousness of the incident.
The noun form of 残忍, focusing on the cruel and brutal nature of an act.
The heinousness of the perpetrator is unimaginable.
Used as a noun to denote extreme wickedness and inhumanity. Often found in formal accusations or literary descriptions.
To express that something is not just evil but also disgusting or abhorrent.
There is no single Japanese word that perfectly matches the English noun 'heinousness' in all contexts. It is more natural to use adjectives like 凶悪な or noun forms like 凶悪さ depending on whether you are describing an act or referring to the quality itself.
Words fail to describe his heinousness.
This is a heinous crime.