因縁|いんねんinnen[0]heiban (flat)

1. nounfate; destiny
   早はやくこの世よを去さったのも彼女かのじょの因縁いんねんだ。↗

   It was her fate to die young.
2. nounconnection; tie; bond; origin
3. nounpretext; justification
4. noun, Buddhismhetu and prataya (direct causes and indirect conditions, which underlie the actions of all things)

• Synonym運命うんめいNeutralThe broadest word for fate or destiny, neutral in tone. 「因縁」 carries a Buddhist cause-and-effect nuance and can also mean a pretext for picking a quarrel.
• Synonym定めさだめNeutralA native Japanese word for fate or what is destined, with a resigned, helpless feel; it can also mean a rule or provision.
• Synonym宿命しゅくめいNeutralMeans predestination, stressing a heaven-fixed fate that cannot be changed; the tone is heavy and somber.
• Synonym命運めいうんWrittenWritten/formal prose. Fate as in survival or ruin, e.g. 「会社の命運」; it stresses a critical turning point of success or failure.
• Synonym天命てんめいWrittenWritten/formal prose. Heaven's decree or will, also one's lifespan, carrying a sense of what Heaven has arranged.
• Synonym回り合わせまわりあわせNeutralRefers to luck or the chance encounters life brings, stressing happenstance; it lacks the Buddhist karmic flavor of 「因縁」.
• Synonym天運てんうんWrittenWritten/formal prose and rare even there: the destiny or luck Heaven bestows, stressing divinely granted fortune.
• Synonym宿世しゅくせWrittenWritten/formal prose, archaic and strongly Buddhist: one's previous existence or the fate fixed in it. Modern 「因縁」 also covers picking quarrels.
• Synonym宿運しゅくうんWrittenWritten/formal prose and rarely used; for an unchangeable, inborn fate, 「宿命」 is the usual word.
• Synonym巡り合わせめぐりあわせNeutralThe naturally arising course of events or fate, e.g. 「不思議な巡り合わせ」; unlike 「因縁」 it has no past-life karmic coloring.
• Related結びつきむすびつきNeutralA connection or tie, stressing how close the relationship is; neutral.
• RelatedつながりNeutralA link or connection, stressing abstract relationships; it carries no cause-and-effect nuance.
• Related経緯けいいNeutralThe course or details of how events unfolded, stressing the whole story; it says nothing about fate.
• Related運うんNeutralLuck, good or bad, in the everyday sense; it has no past-life karmic implication.
• Related由来ゆらいNeutralAn origin or source, stressing where something stems from; destiny plays no part.
• Related絆きずなNeutralMostly the emotional bond between people, usually positive, though it can also mean fetters; it lacks 「因縁」's grudge or quarrel-picking nuance.
• Related由緒ゆいしょNeutralA distinguished history or pedigree, e.g. 「由緒ある寺」; it stresses a long, storied past.
• Related係り合いかかりあいNeutralInvolvement or entanglement, stressing being caught up in something, often trouble; it has none of 「因縁」's fated nuance.
• Related関わりかかわりNeutralRelation or involvement, stressing the degree to which one is involved; neutral, with no sense of destiny.
• RelatedいわれNeutralThe origin or reason behind something, e.g. 「名前の謂れ」; it stresses where something comes from.
• RelatedゆかりNeutralA connection or affinity with a person or place, e.g. 「ゆかりの地」; it lacks 「因縁」's fated or quarrel-picking sense.
• Related由縁ゆえんWrittenWritten/formal prose and rarely used: a tie, affinity, or reason. Unlike 「因縁」, it has no predestined coloring.
• Antonym無縁むえんNeutralThe antonym: having no connection at all, the opposite of 「因縁」's fated bond.
• Antonym偶然ぐうぜんNeutralThe antonym: coincidence or chance, the opposite of 「因縁」's sense of what is fated.

Use 「因縁」 for a fated bond with Buddhist cause-and-effect overtones, or for a pretext to pick a quarrel, as in 「因縁をつける」. For plain fate say 「運命」; for origins say 「謂れ」 or 「由来」; for emotional bonds between people say 「絆」.

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

1. 直接的ちょくせつてきな原因げんいんと間接かんせつ的てきな条件じょうけん。
2. 前世ぜんせいに由来ゆらいする宿命しゅくめい。
3. 来歴らいれき。由緒ゆいしょ。
4. 関係かんけい。縁えん。
5. 関係かんけいを生しょうじた経緯けいい。動機どうき。きっかけ。理由りゆう。
6. 過去かこの経緯けいいに基もとづくわだかまり。感情的かんじょうてき対立たいりつ。
7. 言い掛いいがかり。
8. 原因げんいんとなる。理由りゆうとなる。