呵責かしゃく

か

しゃ

く

Freq.FrequencyTop 50,000

Meanings

pangs of conscience; self-reproach; torment

Primarily used in the set phrase 良心の呵責 (pangs of conscience). The broader meanings of blame, accusation, torture, and maltreatment are rare and mostly literary or historical.

Expressions

良心りょうしんの呵責かしゃくpangs of conscience; remorse; guilty conscience

Kanji

呵scold, blow on, reprove
責blame, condemn, censure
嘖scold, torment, chastise

Related words

良りょう心しん
良心 means 'conscience' itself, while 呵責 refers to the torment or reproach arising from it, especially in the phrase 良心の呵責.
自じ責せき
自責 means 'self-blame' or 'self-accusation' and is more common in modern Japanese for general self-reproach, whereas 呵責 is largely confined to the fixed expression 良心の呵責.

Written forms

呵責かしゃくUsage100%
Standard kanji spelling.
呵嘖かしゃく
rarely-used kanji form
Rarely used kanji form.

Etymology

The kanji 呵 means 'to scold' or 'to blame', and 責 means 'responsibility' or 'blame'. The compound originally referred to severe blame or torture, but in modern Japanese it is almost exclusively used in the phrase 良心の呵責.