also: にせくんし
Refers to a person who pretends to be virtuous or superior while hiding their true nature. Often used in a critical or moralistic context.
He is a hypocrite. He says admirable things, but his actions don't match.
That politician is criticized as a hypocrite.
Standard kanji form; the reading ぎくんし is the most common.
Alternate reading; less common and may be considered non-standard or dialectal.
From Chinese 偽君子 (wěijūnzǐ), composed of 偽 (false) and 君子 (gentleman, person of virtue). The reading ぎくんし is the standard Sino-Japanese on'yomi; にせくんし mixes the native Japanese にせ (false) with くんし.