1.
to repay kindness with ingratitude; to return good with evil; to bite the hand that feeds you
To respond to someone's kindness or generosity with harmful, ungrateful, or treacherous behavior. A strong expression of moral condemnation.
恩を仇で返すようなことはしたくない。
I don't want to do anything that would repay kindness with ingratitude.
あれだけ助けてもらったのに、恩を仇で返すなんてひどい。
After being helped that much, to repay it with ingratitude is terrible.
育ててくれた親に恩を仇で返すような真似だけは、絶対にしてはいけない。
You absolutely must not do anything that repays the parents who raised you with ingratitude.
Literally "to return 恩 (a debt of gratitude) with 仇 (enmity/harm)." One of the most strongly negative moral expressions in Japanese, condemning betrayal of someone who has been kind.
CULTURAL NOTE:
The concept of 恩 (obligation/gratitude for kindness received) is deeply important in Japanese culture. Repaying 恩 with harm is considered one of the most morally reprehensible acts. The expression reflects the strong cultural emphasis on reciprocity and loyalty.
USAGE:
Used when someone acts against a benefactor. Can be used as a direct accusation or as a cautionary expression about what one must never do. Often appears with ような (like, as if) to describe behavior.
COMMON COLLOCATIONS:
- 恩を仇で返すような人 — the kind of person who bites the hand that feeds them
- 恩を仇で返すような真似 — an act of repaying kindness with evil
SIMILAR WORDS:
- 恩知らず — ingrate, ungrateful person
- 裏切る — to betray (more general)
- 仇で返す — to return with harm (shorter form)