noun
debt of honor; debt of honour
A debt that is not legally enforceable but is considered binding by social or moral obligation; often used in contexts of personal trust or reputation.
彼は信用借りを返すために、必死で働いた。
He worked desperately to repay his debt of honor.
信用借りは法的な借金ではないが、道義的に返さなければならない。
A debt of honor is not a legal debt, but it must be repaid out of moral duty.
恩義 is a sense of obligation or indebtedness for a favor received, whereas 信用借り is the actual debt of honor itself.
Compound of 信用 (trust, credit) and 借り (debt, borrowing). The exact historical derivation is uncertain, but the term likely emerged to describe obligations based on personal trust rather than legal contracts.