immorality; corruption; moral lapse
Refers to a violation of moral principles, often with a nuance of betraying one's own conscience or societal ethics. Used in serious or literary contexts.
He felt a sense of moral guilt over the act.
He indulged in a life of immorality.
The act was regarded as a moral lapse.
Their relationship was an immoral one.
Ramen eaten late at night tastes like a guilty pleasure.
堕落 emphasizes a personal fall into depravity or decline, while 背徳 focuses on the act of violating moral principles itself.
悪徳 describes vice or corrupt conduct as a trait or practice, whereas 背徳 emphasizes the act of betraying moral standards.
背徳 implies a betrayal of moral standards (often with a sense of transgression), while 不徳 simply denotes a lack of virtue without that connotation of betrayal.
sense of guilty pleasure; feeling of naughtiness
Standard kanji spelling.
Rarely used kanji form; 悖 is not a jōyō kanji.
From Middle Chinese 背德 (puʌiH tək̚), literally 'turn one's back on virtue'. The kanji 背 means 'back' or 'to go against', and 徳 means 'virtue' or 'morality'.