問責|もんせきmonseki[0]heiban (flat)
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Definitions
- noun, suru verb, transitive verbblame; censure; reproof; reprimand; rebuke
Conjugation
| Dictionary form | 問責する（もんせきする） |
|---|---|
| Polite (masu) | 問責します（もんせきします） |
| Negative (nai) | 問責しない（もんせきしない） |
| polite (masen) | 問責しません（もんせきしません） |
| classical zu / nu | 問責せず・問責せぬ（もんせきせず・もんせきせぬ） |
| Past (ta) | 問責した（もんせきした） |
| polite (mashita) | 問責しました（もんせきしました） |
| Past negative (nakatta) | 問責しなかった（もんせきしなかった） |
| polite (masen deshita) | 問責しませんでした（もんせきしませんでした） |
| Te form | 問責して（もんせきして） |
| Potential | 問責できる（もんせきできる） |
| Passive | 問責される（もんせきされる） |
| Causative | 問責させる（もんせきさせる） |
| Causative passive | 問責させられる（もんせきさせられる） |
| Conditional (ba) | 問責すれば（もんせきすれば） |
| tara | 問責したら（もんせきしたら） |
| Volitional | 問責しよう（もんせきしよう） |
| polite (mashou) | 問責しましょう（もんせきしましょう） |
| Imperative | 問責しろ（もんせきしろ） |
Common forms generated by rule; see the senses for honorific or irregular usage.
Synonyms & antonyms
- Synonym非難ひなんNeutralThe broadest word for blaming or criticizing. 「問責」 zeroes in on holding someone responsible and appears in Diet 「問責決議」 censure motions.
- Synonym糾弾きゅうだんNeutralDenouncing and exposing wrongdoing; stronger than 「問責」, with the feel of a public campaign against the offender.
- Synonym弾劾だんがいFormalFormal: publicly exposing and pursuing guilt; also the legal process of impeaching officials, as in 「弾劾裁判」. Heavier than 「問責」.
- Synonym責めるせめるNeutralA verb: to blame or press someone, also to torment. Common in speech; its focus is on people.
- Synonym咎めるとがめるNeutralA verb: to reproach or find fault; also to question a suspect or feel pangs of conscience. The focus is on picking out faults.
- Synonym指弾しだんWrittenWritten/formal prose for being criticized and shunned by many, as in 「世間の指弾を受ける」; the stress is on public-opinion ostracism.
- Synonym咎めとがめNeutralBlame or reproach, as in 「お咎めなし」; centers on whether one gets punished, while 「問責」 centers on pursuing responsibility.
- Related酷評こくひょうNeutralSevere, scathing criticism, as when a work is panned; targets are usually works or performances, and it does not pursue responsibility.
- Related批判ひはんNeutralCriticism or judgement that can be constructive; it does not necessarily involve holding anyone responsible.
- Related誹議ひぎWrittenSlanderous fault-finding; very literary and rare. Unlike 「問責」, it carries no sense of pursuing responsibility.
- RelatedそしりWrittenWritten word for slander and ridicule, as in 「軽率の謗りを免れない」; stresses drawing others' censure.
- Related難詰なんきつWrittenWritten: listing someone's faults and pressing them hard, face to face or in writing; the stress falls on the grilling itself.
- RelatedなじるNeutralThis entry, read 「つまる」, means to be clogged or packed and is unrelated to 「問責」; the homograph 「詰る（なじる）」 is the one meaning to rebuke.
- Related弁難べんなんWrittenWritten and rare: denouncing someone in words. It does not stress pursuing responsibility the way 「問責」 does.
- Related論難ろんなんWrittenWritten: laying out an opponent's errors and refuting them; the attack is theoretical or argumentative.
- Antonym賞賛しょうさんNeutralPraise or commendation — the opposite pole to 「問責」's pursuit of responsibility.
Use 「問責」 to pursue fault and demand accountability, as in a Diet 「問責決議」. For general blame pick 「非難」, for fierce public denunciation 「糾弾」, for exposing and pursuing guilt 「弾劾」; 「賞賛」 is the antonym. The rest are narrower: 「咎め」「咎める」 center on punishment or fault-finding, 「酷評」 targets works, 「批判」 can be constructive, 「指弾」「謗り」「難詰」「誹議」「弁難」「論難」 are literary; 「詰まる」 is unrelated.
Usage comparisons are AI-assisted and cross-checked by multiple models; for study reference only
Japanese definitions
Kanji in this word
