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潔い (いさぎよい, isagiyoi) Japanese meaning: gracious | Kotomora
Common word› JLPT N1 › Freq. Frequency Top 50,000 Conjugation 潔い · i-adjective
Form Positive Negative Dictionary 潔いさぎよ い 潔いさぎよ くない Polite 潔いさぎよ いです 潔いさぎよ くないです also 潔いさぎよ くありません Past polite 潔いさぎよ かったです 潔いさぎよ くなかったです also 潔いさぎよ くありませんでした Past 潔いさぎよ かった 潔いさぎよ くなかった Te-form 潔いさぎよ くて 潔いさぎよ くなくて Adverbial 潔いさぎよ く Conditional 潔いさぎよ ければ 潔いさぎよ くなければ Tara conditional 潔いさぎよ かったら 潔いさぎよ くなかったら
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。
He graciously admitted defeat.
Apologizing without making excuses is the mature thing to do.
Usage patterns 潔いさぎよ く 負ま ける to lose gracefully, without excuses or resentment
He lost the match gracefully.
潔いさぎよ く 謝あやま る to apologize honestly, without making excuses
She apologized for her mistake without making excuses.
潔いさぎよ く 認みと める to readily admit (a fault, defeat, etc.)
The president readily admitted his responsibility.
潔いさぎよ く 辞や める to resign gracefully, stepping down without clinging to a position
He gracefully stepped down from the position of president.
Expressions 潔いさぎよ しとせず find it against one's conscience; too proud to do 潔いさぎよ しとしない find it against one's conscience; too proud to do; would not stoop to Related words 潔い in its dated sense means upright and pure-hearted, but 誠実 is the common modern word for sincere, honest character.
潔い (dated) and 正直 both describe honest character, but 正直 is the everyday term while 潔い in this sense sounds old-fashioned.
Opposites 潔い praises someone for facing defeat or blame with dignity, while 卑怯 criticizes someone for acting in a cowardly or underhanded way.
潔い describes accepting an outcome cleanly and without complaint, whereas 未練がましい describes clinging regretfully and refusing to let go.
潔い praises fair, honorable, unhesitating behavior, contrasting with the sneaky unfairness implied by 卑劣.
Written forms 潔いさぎよ い Usage 71%
Standard kanji spelling; high priority.
いさぎよい Usage 28%
Kana spelling is common in everyday writing, especially when the kanji is not needed.
潔いさぎ よい Usage <1%
いさぎ 良よ い Usage <1%
Etymology Derived from いさぎ (purity, cleanliness) + よい (good). The exact historical derivation is uncertain; the kanji 潔 carries meanings of purity and integrity.
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