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潔白 (けっぱく) Japanese meaning | Kotomora

潔けっ白ぱく

け

っ

ぱ

く

Common word›JLPTN1›Freq.FrequencyTop 50,000

Meanings

1

noun, na-adjective

innocence; purity; integrity

Refers to moral or legal blamelessness, often used in contexts of clearing one's name or proving one's honesty. Can also describe a pure, untainted character.

彼かれは

自じ

分ぶん

の

潔けっ

白ぱく

を

主しゅ

張ちょう

し

た

。

He insisted on his innocence.

潔けっ白ぱくな心こころで仕し事ごとに取とり組くむ。

I approach my work with a pure heart.

Usage patterns

〈人ひと〉の潔けっ白ぱくを証しょう明めいするto prove someone's innocence
彼かれは自じ分ぶんの潔けっ白ぱくを証しょう明めいするために証しょう拠こを集あつめた。
He gathered evidence to prove his own innocence.
潔けっ白ぱくを主しゅ張ちょうするto claim/insist on one's innocence
被ひ告こく人にんは法ほう廷ていで潔けっ白ぱくを主しゅ張ちょうした。
The defendant insisted on his innocence in court.
身みの潔けっ白ぱくを明あかすto demonstrate/clear one's own innocence
彼かの女じょは身みの潔けっ白ぱくを明あかすためにアリバイを示しめした。
She presented an alibi to demonstrate her innocence.

Kanji

潔undefiled, pure, clean
白white

Related words· 6

無む実じつN1
無実 specifically means 'not guilty' of a particular crime, while 潔白 carries a broader sense of moral purity as well as innocence.
清せい廉れん
清廉 stresses honesty and incorruptibility, often of an official or public figure, whereas 潔白 focuses on being free of wrongdoing or blame.
白しろN5
潔白 is a formal word for moral innocence or purity of conduct, while 白 is casual slang meaning 'innocent' especially in criminal contexts.
明めい朗ろうN1
潔白 stresses moral innocence and being free of wrongdoing, while 明朗 highlights the visible transparency and clarity of an act or transaction.

Show 2 more

廉れん
潔白 describes being morally clean or innocent, a modern equivalent to 廉's obsolete sense of 'pure, honest'.
清きよいN2
潔白 specifically means being free of guilt or wrongdoing (as in a legal or moral sense), while 清い covers a wider range of purity including physical cleanliness.

Opposites

有ゆう罪ざいN1
有罪 means 'guilty', the direct legal opposite of 潔白's sense of proven innocence.

Don't confuse with

潔けっ癖ぺき
潔癖 means an obsessive fastidiousness about cleanliness or morals, not the state of being proven innocent like 潔白.
不ふ潔けつN3
潔白 shares the kanji 潔 with 不潔 but means innocent or morally pure, the near-opposite feel despite the similar look.

Word family

清せい廉れん潔けっ白ぱく
spotless integrity; absolute honesty; uprightness
清せい浄じょう潔けっ白ぱく
upright and clean-handed; pure in heart and with a clean conscience

Etymology

Compound of 潔 (pure, undefiled) and 白 (white, symbolizing purity). The combination reinforces the idea of moral spotlessness.