偽ぎ善ぜん

ぎ

ぜ

ん

Freq.FrequencyTop 20,000

Meanings

noun, noun which may take the genitive case particle 'no'

hypocrisy

Refers to pretending to be virtuous or moral while acting otherwise. Often used in social, political, or ethical criticism.

彼かれの偽ぎ善ぜんにはもう我が慢まんできない。
I can no longer stand his hypocrisy.
偽ぎ善ぜん的てきな態たい度どはすぐに見み抜ぬかれる。
A hypocritical attitude is quickly seen through.

See all 15 example sentences ›

Usage patterns

〈人ひと〉の偽ぎ善ぜんを暴あばくto expose someone's hypocrisy
記き者しゃはその政せい治じ家かの偽ぎ善ぜんを暴あばいた。
The reporter exposed the politician's hypocrisy.
〈事こと〉を偽ぎ善ぜんだと非ひ難なんするto condemn something as hypocrisy
彼かれの慈じ善ぜん活かつ動どうを偽ぎ善ぜんだと非ひ難なんする人ひともいる。
Some people condemn his charity work as hypocrisy.
偽ぎ善ぜんに過すぎないto be nothing but hypocrisy
彼かれの親しん切せつな言こと葉ばは偽ぎ善ぜんに過すぎなかった。
His kind words were nothing but hypocrisy.

Kanji

偽falsehood, lie, deceive
善virtuous, good, goodness

Related words

二に枚まい舌じた
偽善 refers to pretending to be virtuous while acting otherwise, whereas 二枚舌 focuses on saying contradictory things to different people (duplicity).
欺ぎ瞞まん
偽善 is specifically about a false show of moral virtue, while 欺瞞 is the broader term for deception or trickery of any kind.
カント
偽善 is the common, everyday Japanese word for hypocrisy, while カント is a rare loanword that can carry the same meaning of insincere pious talk but needs context to be understood.

Opposites

誠せい実じつN1
偽善 describes a false pretense of goodness, while 誠実 describes genuine sincerity and honesty.

Don't confuse with

善ぜん意いN1
偽善 shares the kanji 善 with 善意 but means fake virtue (hypocrisy), while 善意 means genuine goodwill or good intentions.

Word family

Etymology

Compound of 偽 (false, fake) and 善 (goodness, virtue). The exact historical derivation is uncertain, but the combination directly conveys 'false virtue'.