悪気|わるぎwarugi[3]odaka (tail-high)

1. nounill will; malice; evil intent
   なんの気きなしに言いっただけで、別べつに悪気わるぎがあってのことではありません。↗

   I just said so without thinking much about it. I didn't mean anything serious.

• Synonym悪意あくいNeutralIntent to deliberately harm; used in daily life and law, and in civil law it also means knowing of a fact. 「悪気」 mostly appears in negatives like 「悪気はない」.
• Synonym害意がいいWrittenIntent to harm someone; more explicit and serious than 「悪気」, seen in written and legal texts, rarely in daily speech.
• Synonym悪念あくねんWrittenA thought of plotting something bad; rare even in writing. 「悪気」 usually speaks of having no bad intent and is far milder.
• Related恨みうらみNeutralResentment held against someone who harmed you; a grudge that builds up. 「悪気」 is about whether one acts with bad intent.
• Related怨念おんねんWrittenA deep, obsessive grudge, often with ghost-story overtones. 「悪気」 is mere bad intent, far milder in degree.
• Related意地悪いじわるNeutralDeliberately mean behavior or a spiteful character; also works as a na-adjective. 「悪気」 is about whether the motive holds bad intent.
• Related邪悪じゃあくWrittenWickedness; describes people, acts, or thoughts, as in 「邪悪な行為」. Far stronger than 「悪気」, which only names bad intent.
• Related遺恨いこんWrittenA grudge that lingers long afterward, as in 「遺恨を晴らす」. 「悪気」 is momentary ill intent, not an accumulated grudge.
• Related邪気じゃきWrittenMalice, but also the noxious air once thought to cause illness; often negated as 「邪気がない」 to mean innocent. 「悪気」 is mostly used to deny meaning any harm.
• Related害心がいしんWrittenSame meaning as 「害意」, a heart set on harming someone; very rare. In daily speech use 「悪意」 or the negative 「悪気はない」.
• Related意趣いしゅWrittenA grudge, but also intention or disposition; seen mostly in 「意趣返し」. 「悪気」 carries no sense of revenge.
• Related意趣遺恨いしゅいこんWrittenA four-character word for deep-seated resentment toward someone; rare in writing. Daily speech uses 「恨み」, far from momentary 「悪気」.
• Antonym善意ぜんいNeutralGoodwill that puts the other person first — the opposite of 「悪気」, which intends harm; in law 「善意」 means not knowing of a fact.

To say you meant no harm, use 「悪気」, as in 「悪気はなかった」. For clear intent to harm choose 「悪意」, for a held grudge 「恨み」, for deliberate meanness 「意地悪」. The others are written or rare: 「害意」「害心」 (intent to harm), 「悪念」, 「邪気」, 「怨念」「遺恨」「意趣」「意趣遺恨」 (deep or lingering grudges), 「邪悪」 (wicked); 「善意」 is the antonym.

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

1. 災わざわいをなす気き。