虚偽|きょぎkyogi[1]atamadaka (head-high)
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- no-adjectivefalsehood; untruth; lie; misinformation
- noun, logicfallacy
- Synonym嘘うそCasualColloquial everyday word for a lie, as in 「嘘をつく」; the most common choice in speech, while 「虚偽」 is the stiff term for falsehood in legal or written statements.
- Synonym偽りいつわりWrittenWritten style for falsehood and deception, as in 「偽りのない気持ち」; broader than 「虚偽」, which is at home in legal or official wording.
- Synonym虚言きょげんWrittenWritten word for lies, as in 「虚言癖」; it stresses the act of telling lies, while 「虚偽」 stresses that the content itself is untrue.
- Synonym偽ぎNeutralMostly appears in compounds such as 「真偽」; standing alone it is rare. It points to falseness in general, not the document falsehood of 「虚偽」.
- Synonym虚妄きょもうWrittenWritten term for what is vain and untrue; it carries a Buddhist, philosophical colour that 「虚偽」 lacks.
- Synonym虚語きょごWrittenFalse or insincere talk; rare today and found mainly in classical and Buddhist texts, unlike the still-current 「虚偽」.
- Synonym偽り言いつわりごとWrittenA fabricated lie; rare in modern Japanese and archaic in flavour, where 「虚偽」 remains standard in formal writing.
- Related詐欺さぎNeutralFraud as a crime, as in 「振り込め詐欺」; use it for swindles, not for untrue statements — that is 「虚偽」.
- Related欺瞞ぎまんWrittenWritten word for deception and hoodwinking, as in 「欺瞞に満ちた」; it names the act of deceiving, while 「虚偽」 names untrue content.
- Related詭弁きべんWrittenSophistry, as in 「詭弁を弄する」; it is about twisting arguments, not about statements being untrue as in 「虚偽」.
- Related不実ふじつWrittenWritten word for unfaithfulness or what is at odds with the facts, as in 「不実な男」「不実の記載」; unlike 「虚偽」 it can describe a person.
- RelatedぺてんCasualColloquial word for a swindle, as in 「ぺてん師」; it points to the trick or scam itself, not to untrue statements as 「虚偽」 does.
- Related嘘偽りうそいつわりNeutralLies and falsehood taken together, often as 「嘘偽りのない」 for something with no falsehood at all; less tied to legal use than 「虚偽」.
- RelatedごまかしCasualColloquial word for fudging or covering things up, as in 「ごまかしが効かない」; about dodging and disguise rather than untrue content.
- Related空言そらごとWrittenWritten word for empty, untrue talk with an archaic flavour; 「虚偽」 is the normal formal choice today.
- Related欺騙きへんWrittenDeception, including military ruses; rare in modern Japanese, while 「虚偽」 stays current in legal prose.
- RelatedいかさまCasualColloquial word for cheating or trickery, as in 「いかさま賭博」; tied to gambling and games, unlike the legal 「虚偽」.
- Related不誠実ふせいじつNeutralDishonesty as an attitude, as in 「不誠実な対応」; it judges a person's conduct, while 「虚偽」 labels statements untrue.
- Related瞞着まんちゃくWrittenWritten word for deceiving people to hide the truth; rare today, whereas 「虚偽」 is alive in legal and official texts.
- Antonym真実しんじつNeutralAntonym: the truth that stands against 「虚偽」 as falsehood.
- Antonym事実じじつNeutralAntonym: what actually happened, the opposite of 「虚偽」 as untrue content.
- Antonym本当ほんとうNeutralAntonym, colloquial: what is real or true, the opposite of 「虚偽」 as the fake or false.
「虚偽」 is the formal, legal-flavoured word for falsehood in documents and statements, as in 「虚偽申告」 and 「虚偽の記載」. For everyday lies use 「嘘」; for fraud use 「詐欺」. The written synonyms each narrow the sense — 「虚言」 is the act of lying, 「欺瞞」 deception, 「詭弁」 sophistry, 「不誠実」 an attitude — so reach for them only when that shade fits. The antonyms are 「真実」 and 「事実」.
Usage comparisons are AI-assisted and cross-checked by multiple models; for study reference only


