Word
言い訳
Meaning in Englishexcuse, explanation
Animated kanji stroke order
Sentence
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Word context
What it means
言い訳 means an excuse or justification offered to defend oneself or avoid blame. It denotes a spoken explanation that reframes a mistake or shortcoming as excusable, and may be sincere or used to deflect responsibility.
Main meanings
- The primary sense as an excuse or justification offered to defend oneself or avoid blame
- A nuance implying insincerity or an attempt to shift responsibility
- The verb form 言い訳をする describes the act of making excuses
How to use it
Used as a noun to describe an excuse, typically appearing with 言い訳をする; common in casual speech to shift responsibility; in formal discourse, it's often avoided or criticized.
Variants and close terms
- 弁解 (benkai) — defense or apology, often more formal or sincere
- 口実 (koujitsu) — pretext or excuse that hides the real reason
- 言い逃れ (iinogare) — evasion or quibble that dodges accountability
Composition
- 言い: the stem of 言う (to say); い marks the ren'yōkei form
- 訳: a noun meaning reason, explanation, or translation
Etymology
言い is the ren'yōkei of 言う, and 訳 means reason or explanation; their combination yields a native compound for a spoken justification.
Word class
Noun (名詞)
Word
Related words by kanji and components
N3
言わば
iwaba
so to speak, in a manner of speaking
N3
言語
gengo
language
N3
申し訳
moushiwake
apology, excuse, justification
N3
訳す
yakusu
translate
N3
通訳
tsuuyaku
interpretation, interpreter
N3
一言
hitokoto
one word
N3
伝言
dengon
verbal message
N4
訳
wake
reason, explanation, meaning
N4
翻訳
honyaku
translation
Kanji