pre-noun adjectival
innocent; guiltless; sinless
Pre-noun adjectival (rentaishi) meaning 'without guilt' or 'free from sin'. Often used in literary or formal contexts, and can carry a poetic or slightly archaic tone.
罪なき人々が戦争で苦しんでいる。
Innocent people are suffering because of the war.
彼は罪なき子供のように笑った。
He laughed like an innocent child.
Standard spelling using the classical attributive form of the adjective なし (ない).
Kanji spelling for なき; less common and somewhat literary.
Compound of 罪 (tsumi, 'sin, crime') + なき (naki), the classical attributive form of the adjective なし (nashi, 'not exist'). The modern equivalent would be 罪のない (tsumi no nai).