白状|はくじょうhakujou[1]atamadaka (head-high)

JLPT N1approx.Common
Definitions
  1. noun, suru verb, transitive verbconfession
    彼かれは過あやまちをあからさまに白状はくじょうした。↗
    He openly confessed his faults.
Conjugation
Dictionary form白状する(はくじょうする)
Polite (masu)白状します(はくじょうします)
Negative (nai)白状しない(はくじょうしない)
polite (masen)白状しません(はくじょうしません)
classical zu / nu白状せず・白状せぬ(はくじょうせず・はくじょうせぬ)
Past (ta)白状した(はくじょうした)
polite (mashita)白状しました(はくじょうしました)
Past negative (nakatta)白状しなかった(はくじょうしなかった)
polite (masen deshita)白状しませんでした(はくじょうしませんでした)
Te form白状して(はくじょうして)
Potential白状できる(はくじょうできる)
Passive白状される(はくじょうされる)
Causative白状させる(はくじょうさせる)
Causative passive白状させられる(はくじょうさせられる)
Conditional (ba)白状すれば(はくじょうすれば)
tara白状したら(はくじょうしたら)
Volitional白状しよう(はくじょうしよう)
polite (mashou)白状しましょう(はくじょうしましょう)
Imperative白状しろ(はくじょうしろ)

Common forms generated by rule; see the senses for honorific or irregular usage.

Synonyms & antonyms
  • Synonym自白じはくWrittenWritten/formal prose: confessing one's crimes or secrets; in legal use, a confession, as in 「自白剤」. 「白状」 is the everyday word for owning up.
  • Synonym自供じきょうWrittenWritten/formal prose, chiefly legal: a suspect recounting what they did under interrogation. 「白状」 is more colloquial.
  • Synonym告白こくはくNeutralNeutral: confessing what one has kept hidden in one's heart or declaring one's love, as in 「愛の告白」; not limited to crimes.
  • Synonym打ち明けるうちあけるCasualColloquial verb, read 「ぶちあける」: to pour everything out, holding nothing back. Close to 「白状」, with the emphasis on unburdening oneself.
  • Related自認じにんWrittenWritten/formal prose: admitting something oneself, as in 「失敗を自認」; the focus is on one's own acknowledgment.
  • Antonym否認ひにんWrittenWritten/formal prose: denial, refusing to accept something as fact; the opposite of 「白状」, which is about coming clean.
  • Antonym隠蔽いんぺいWrittenWritten/formal prose: deliberately hiding or covering things up, as in 「事実の隠蔽」; the opposite of coming clean.

Use 「白状」 for colloquially owning up or confessing, as in 「白状しろ」. For legal confessions choose 「自白」 or 「自供」; for declaring feelings, 「告白」; for pouring everything out, 「ぶち開ける」. 「否認」 is the opposite: denial.

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

Japanese definitions
  1. 自みずからの犯おかした罪つみや隠し事かくしごとなどの状況じょうきょうを申し述もうしのべること。
Kanji in this word
English equivalents
See also

JLPT vocabulary levels are community estimates, not official (no official lists have been published since the 2010 revision).

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