悪(あく)

あく
noun
evil; wickedness
1. evil; wickedness; wrongdoing
Moral wrongdoing or the concept of evil, as opposed to good.
善(ぜん)と悪(あく)の区別(くべつ)。
The distinction between good and evil.
悪(あく)に染(そ)まった人間(にんげん)を救(すく)うのは難(むずか)しい。
It is difficult to save a person who has fallen into wickedness.
この物語(ものがたり)では、悪(あく)が最後(さいご)に滅(ほろ)びて正義(せいぎ)が勝(か)つという展開(てんかい)になっている。
In this story, evil is destroyed in the end and justice prevails.

悪(あく) refers to evil or wickedness as an abstract concept, the moral opposite of 善(ぜん) (good, virtue).

COMMON EXPRESSIONS:

  • 善(ぜん)と悪(あく): good and evil
  • 悪(あく)に染(そ)まる: to be tainted by evil
  • 必要(ひつよう)悪(あく): a necessary evil
  • 悪(あく)の道(みち): the path of evil
  • 勧善懲悪(かんぜんちょうあく): rewarding good and punishing evil (a common story theme)

KANJI READINGS:

The kanji 悪(あく) has multiple readings with different meanings:

  • 悪(あく) (noun): evil, wickedness
  • 悪(わる)い (i-adjective): bad, poor
  • 悪(わる): bad person, villain (informal noun)

USAGE:
As a noun, 悪(あく) appears in philosophical, religious, and literary contexts. It is also common in fiction where themes of good versus evil are central.

Related Words

Antonym: 善(ぜん) (good)
general
Added 2026.2.7 22:15 · Revised 2026.4.11 10:25
10000/10459_aku