How to say "self-denial" in Japanese

• 禁欲きんよくCommon
  noun, suru verb, intransitive verbCovers self-denial in the sense of giving up pleasures and desires, as in ascetic or religious practice, celibacy, or abstaining from indulgences. Nuance: deliberate restraint and simple living.
  彼かれは僧侶そうりょに近ちかい禁欲きんよく生活せいかつをしている。↗

  He practices austerities almost like a monk.
• 自己否定じこひてい
  noun, suru verbCovers self-denial as negating or rejecting one's own self, value, or views, often in psychological or philosophical contexts. Be careful: it does not mean abstaining from pleasures.
• 克己こっき
  noun, suru verb, intransitive verbA less common word for self-denial as conquering one's own desires and impulses through discipline, close to self-mastery or self-control. Seldom the everyday word you want.

Use 禁欲 for self-denial as abstaining from pleasures, 自己否定 for denying or negating oneself (often psychological), and 克己 for self-mastery through discipline over one's own desires.

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

• 禁欲きんよくabstinence
• 自己否定じこひていself-denial
• 克己こっきself-control