How to say "honesty" in Japanese

• 信しんCommon
  nounCovers honesty in the sense of being trustworthy and faithful to others. Its nuance centers on reliability and the confidence other people place in you, so it suits contexts of fidelity and good faith.
• 硬さかたさCommon
  nounPrimarily means hardness, firmness, or stiffness; its gloss 'honesty' is marginal. This is seldom the word you want for honesty in English—it is really about physical or figurative firmness.
• 実じつJLPT N1approx.Common
  no-adjectiveCovers honesty and sincerity as an inner quality of truthfulness. It fits contexts where you speak of genuineness or fidelity of feeling, often in more abstract or literary usage.
• 誠まことJLPT N1approx.Common
  nounThe core word for honesty and sincerity as a personal virtue. It conveys truthfulness and good faith of the heart, and is the natural choice when contrasting honest behavior with deceit.
  手て八丁はっちょう口八丁くちはっちょうの彼かれだけど、誠まことがないのが玉たまに瑕きずだね。↗

  He works fast and is very articulate but his insincerity is his biggest defect.
• 真実味しんじつみCommon
  nounPoints to the sense of truthfulness or credibility in something—whether words, a story, or a manner ring true. It suggests the appearance of sincerity rather than honesty as a character trait.

For honesty as a moral quality 誠 or 実 is usually the safest choice, 信 stresses trustworthiness, 真実味 suggests a sense of truthfulness, while 「硬さ」 really means hardness or stiffness.

Usage comparisons are AI-assisted and cross-checked by multiple models; for study reference only

• 信しんhonesty
• 硬さかたさfirmness
• 真率しんそつhonesty
• 信実しんじつsincerity
• 朴直ぼくちょくsimplicity
• 生一本きいっぽんstraight-forwardness
• インテグリティintegrity
• 実じつsincerity
• 誠まことsincerity
• 真実味しんじつみsincerity