How to say "vanity" in Japanese

• 虚栄きょえいCommon
  nounVanity as an abstract quality — vainglory, the hollow pursuit of admiration and outward glory empty of substance. Use it when discussing vanity itself rather than a vain person's character.
• 虚栄心きょえいしんCommon
  nounVanity as a trait of character — the vain streak in a person's heart. Use it for someone's disposition or feelings, rather than for vanity as an abstract idea.
  おそらく、人間にんげんの持もって生うまれた感情かんじょうの中なかで、虚栄心きょえいしんほど抑おさえにくいものはないだろう。↗

  There is, perhaps, not one of our natural passions so hard to subdue as vanity.
• 自惚れうぬぼれJLPT N1approx.Common
  nounCovers vanity chiefly in the sense of conceit: an inflated opinion of oneself and one's abilities. When English 'vanity' means being full of yourself rather than caring about appearances, this fits.
  誰だれでも大おおなり小しょうなり自惚うぬぼれはある。↗

  Everyone is more or less conceited.
• 見栄みえCommon
  nounVanity as outward show: display and pretensions, keeping up appearances before others. Choose it when 'vanity' is about how one looks to other people rather than about inner conceit.
  彼女かのじょは好奇心こうきしんからというより見栄みえからテニスを始はじめた。↗

  She has begun to play tennis not so much out of curiosity as out of vanity.

Choose by the flavor of vanity: 虚栄 for hollow vainglory itself, 虚栄心 for vanity as a personal trait, 「自惚れ」 for conceit and self-importance, and 見栄 for outward show and keeping up appearances.

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

• 虚栄きょえいvanity
• 虚栄心きょえいしんvanity
• 自惚れうぬぼれconceit
• 見栄みえshow
• バニティーvanity
• 思い上がりおもいあがりconceit
• 衒気げんきaffectation