How to say "integrity" in Japanese
Choosing the right word
- 節操せっそうnounCovers integrity as unwavering moral principle: refusing to compromise one's beliefs or honor under pressure. Typical of talk about a person's character, politicians, or keeping one's principles in adversity.
- 廉潔れんけつna-adjective, nounIntegrity in the sense of incorruptible honesty, especially of officials or people who handle money and power: free from graft, bribery, or self-enrichment. A word for clean, upright conduct in public life.
- 保全ほぜんnoun, suru verb, transitive verbThe non-moral sense: integrity as wholeness — preserving or maintaining something so it stays intact, as with data, ecosystems, or territory; it simply means preservation and maintenance.
- 忠誠ちゅうせいna-adjective, nounReally loyalty or allegiance — faithfulness to a lord, employer, or cause. It matches 'integrity' only where that means fidelity, so it is seldom the word for personal moral integrity.
- 潔白けっぱくnoun, na-adjectiveThis is innocence: being free of guilt or suspicion, as when a wrongly accused person is cleared. It is only marginally about integrity — use it for proving innocence, not for moral backbone.
Use 節操 for moral steadfastness, 廉潔 for incorruptible honesty, 保全 for the technical sense of something kept whole and intact, and treat 忠誠 and 潔白 as loyalty and innocence rather than integrity.
Usage comparisons are AI-assisted and cross-checked by multiple models; for study reference only
Japanese equivalents
See also
This browser can't play pronunciations (needs Safari 18.4 or later, or Chrome / Edge / Firefox).
