goodness; the good
Used as a noun meaning 'goodness' or 'that which is good', often in philosophical or abstract contexts. Can appear in set phrases like 良きにつけ悪しきにつけ.
彼は人間の良きを信じている。
He believes in the goodness of people.
pre-noun adjectival
Pre-noun adjectival form of 良い (よい), used directly before a noun. Slightly formal or literary compared to いい. Common in set expressions like 良き日, 良き友, or 良き時代.
See also: よし
良き友に恵まれて幸せだ。
I am blessed with good friends.
He is a good friend to me.
今日は本当に良き日だ。
Today is truly a good day.
昭和は良き時代だったと祖父はよく言う。
My grandfather often says the Showa era was a good time.
This school still has a good tradition.
良い is the standard modern adjective meaning 'good', while 良き is its classical pre-noun form used mainly in fixed, literary expressions.
いい is the everyday colloquial word for 'good', whereas 良き is formal and restricted to modifying a following noun in set phrases.
悪しき is the classical opposite of 良き, meaning 'bad', and the two appear together in the fixed phrase 良きにつけ悪しきにつけ.
良し is a predicate/interjection meaning 'it's fine' or 'OK', while 良き is a pre-noun modifier used only before a following noun.
Standard kanji spelling; the most frequent form in modern usage.
Alternative kanji, less common and somewhat literary.
Alternative kanji, less common and somewhat literary.
Classical Japanese pre-noun form of 良し (よし), the old terminal form of modern 良い (よい). The noun sense derives from nominalization of this form.