Word
言い訳
Meaning in Englishexcuse, explanation
Animated kanji stroke order
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)
Related words by kanji and components
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to leave a message
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内訳
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the items, breakdown, classification
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片言
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broken (in reference to speaking style, e.g., Japanese)
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証言
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evidence, testimony
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助言
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advice, suggestion
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宣言
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declaration, proclamation, announcement
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断言
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assertion, declaration, affirmation
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utterance, speech, proposal