心しん神しん喪そう失しつ

し

ん

し

ん

そ

う

し

つ

Freq.FrequencyTop 50,000

Meanings

1

noun

insanity; mental incapacity; non compos mentis

law

Legal term referring to a state where a person lacks the mental capacity to understand their actions or make decisions. Used in criminal law and civil competency contexts.

心しん神しん喪そう失しつの状

じょう

態たい

で

犯おか

し

た

行こう

為い

は

罰ばっ

せ

られ

ない

。

An act committed in a state of insanity is not punishable.

裁さい判ばん所しょは被ひ告こくが心しん神しん喪そう失しつだったと認にん定ていした。

The court determined that the defendant was non compos mentis.

Kanji

心heart, mind, spirit
神gods, mind, soul
喪miss, mourning
失lose, error, fault
身somebody, person, one's station in life

Don't confuse with

心しん神しん耗こう弱じゃく
心神耗弱 refers to a significantly reduced but still partially present mental capacity, while 心神喪失 denotes a complete loss of mental capacity (legal insanity).

Word family

心しん神しん喪そう失しつ者しゃ
person of unsound mind; person lacking mental capacity

Built from

心

Written forms

心しん神しん喪そう失しつ
Standard legal term for mental incapacity. High-frequency news kanji form.
心しん身しん喪そう失しつ
irregular kanji usage
Irregular kanji variant using 身 (body) instead of 神 (mind/spirit). Occasionally seen but non-standard.

Etymology

Compound of 心神 (mind/spirit) and 喪失 (loss). A direct translation of the Western legal concept of insanity or mental incapacity, adopted into Japanese law in the late 19th century.

しん

神しん

+喪そう失しつ