善|ぜんzen[1]atamadaka (head-high)

1. noungood; goodness; right; virtue
   競争きょうそうそれ自体じたいは善ぜんでも悪わるでもない。↗

   Competition is neither good nor evil in itself.

• Synonym美徳びとくNeutralA good quality society praises, as in 「謙虚は美徳だ」. 善 is the abstract concept of good and evil.
• Related良さよさNeutralThe good points of a thing and how good it is, as in 「この店の良さ」; 善 is the ethical good, opposed to evil.
• Related良りょうWrittenWritten: good quality or condition; also the middle grade in the 「優良可」 scale. 善 is moral goodness.
• Related徳行とっこうWrittenWritten: concrete conduct that accords with morality. 善 is the abstract value of goodness itself.
• Related仁じんWrittenWritten: the central Confucian virtue — benevolence and consideration for others. 善 is broader, covering whatever is good or right.
• Related道徳どうとくNeutralThe moral norms society is meant to follow; also the school subject. 善 is the good those norms pursue.
• Related長所ちょうしょNeutralStrong points where a person or thing beats others of its kind. 善 is moral goodness and never means merits.
• Related徳義とくぎWrittenWritten: the duties and good faith one must keep as morality demands. 善 is the more abstract good in good and evil.
• Related美点びてんNeutralGood points or charms, of people and things alike. 善 centers on moral evaluation.
• Related篤行とっこうWrittenWritten: sincere, warm-hearted good deeds, seen mostly in commendations. 善 is the abstract concept.
• Related徳とくNeutralThe virtue and moral cultivation of a person; can also mean benefit or gain. 善 is the value judgment opposed to evil.
• Related功徳くどくWrittenWritten, Buddhist: good deeds that bring blessings, as in 「功徳を積む」. 善 is a general ethical concept.
• Related仁徳じんとくWrittenWritten: benevolent, compassionate virtue, mostly used to praise rulers or elders. 善 is more abstract.
• Related善心ぜんしんWrittenWritten: the heart that leans toward good — conscience — with a Buddhist tinge. 善 is the value of goodness itself.
• Related有徳うとくWrittenArchaic: virtuous, and also wealthy; rare in modern use — everyday speech says 「徳のある」.
• Related明徳めいとくWrittenConfucian term for bright, luminous virtue; also a historical era name. Not used in everyday life.
• Related美質びしつWrittenWritten: the good qualities a person or thing has; in daily speech say 「長所」 or 「良いところ」.
• Related道心どうしんWrittenWritten: moral conscience, and also the heart that seeks the Buddhist path; everyday speech says 「良心」.
• Related聖徳せいとくWrittenThe supreme virtue of an emperor or the Buddha, seen in historical and religious writing. Not used in daily life.
• Antonym悪あくNeutralAntonym: evil that violates morality, the ethical opposite of 善; the pair is often 「善と悪」.
• Antonym邪よこしまNeutralAntonym in character and conduct: wicked, crooked-hearted, as in 「邪な考え」.

Use 「善」 for the abstract good opposed to evil. For the strong points of people or things, use 「長所」 or 「良さ」; for virtue and character, 「徳」 or 「美徳」; for moral norms, 「道徳」; for Buddhist good deeds, 「功徳」. The rest are narrower or literary: 徳行 and 篤行 for moral conduct, 仁 for Confucian benevolence, 悪 and 邪 as antonyms, and 有徳, 明徳, 聖徳 hardly appear in everyday life.

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

1. （ゼン）良よいこと。好このましいこと。
2. （ゼン）道徳どうとくの理想りそう。