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理非曲直 (りひきょくちょく) Japanese meaning | Kotomora

理り非ひ曲きょく直ちょく

Meanings

1

noun

right and wrong; merits and demerits

yojijukugo (four-character idiom)

Formal yojijukugo used to discuss the justice or fairness of a matter, often in legal or ethical contexts.

裁さい判ばんでは、事じ件けんの理り非ひ曲きょく直ちょくを明あきらかにすることが求もとめられる。
In a trial, it is required to clarify the rights and wrongs of the case.
彼かれは理り非ひ曲きょく直ちょくをわきまえずに感かん情じょう的てきに反はん論ろんした。
He argued emotionally without discerning right from wrong.

Kanji

理logic, arrangement, reason
非un-, mistake, negative
曲bend, music, melody
直

straightaway, honesty, frankness

Similar words

是ぜ非ひ
是非 is a more common word for right and wrong, used in everyday contexts, while 理非曲直 is a formal, literary yojijukugo.
善ぜん悪あく
善悪 refers to good and evil in a moral sense, whereas 理非曲直 focuses on logical or legal rightness.

Etymology

A yojijukugo composed of 理 (reason), 非 (wrong), 曲 (crooked), and 直 (straight), literally meaning 'reason and wrong, crooked and straight', i.e., the rights and wrongs of a matter.