How to say "immoral" in Japanese

Choosing the right word
  • 極道ごくどうCommon
    na-adjective, nounCovers 'immoral' in the sense of wicked or profligate: a dissolute way of life outside accepted morality. Typical context: describing a person who lives by vice and crime, outside respectable society.
  • 不潔ふけつJLPT N2approx.Common
    na-adjective, nounCovers 'immoral' as morally dirty rather than wicked: indecent or obscene, tainted with impurity. Typical context: calling money or a story dirty in a moral sense.

Choose 極道 for 'immoral' describing a wicked, profligate way of life, and 不潔 for 'immoral' meaning morally dirty — indecent or obscene, as with dirty money or dirty stories.

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

Japanese equivalents
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JLPT vocabulary levels are community estimates, not official (no official lists have been published since the 2010 revision).

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