猥褻(わいせつ)

Compound of 猥(わい) ('disordered; lewd') and 褻(せつ) ('familiar; vulgar'). Both kanji are outside the general-use list (non-常用(じょうよう)); news media often writes the word in hiragana (わいせつ) as a result — わいせつ事件(じけん), わいせつ行為(こうい).

Usage

• Used as a na-adjective: 猥褻(わいせつ)な画像(がぞう) ('obscene image'), 猥褻(わいせつ)な言葉(ことば) ('lewd language').
• Used as a bare prefix in legal and news compounds: 猥褻(わいせつ)行為(こうい) ('indecent conduct'), 猥褻(わいせつ)物(ぶつ) ('obscene material'), 猥褻(わいせつ)事件(じけん) ('indecency case'), 強制(きょうせい)猥褻(わいせつ) ('indecent assault').
• Much stronger and more formal than いやらしい ('lewd; creepy') or エッチ ('naughty'); carries the weight of moral and legal condemnation.

Common collocations

• 猥褻(わいせつ)行為(こうい): indecent conduct / indecent act (esp. in criminal context)
• 猥褻(わいせつ)物(ぶつ): obscene material
• 猥褻(わいせつ)画像(がぞう): obscene image / photograph
• 猥褻(わいせつ)文書(ぶんしょ): obscene writing / publication
• 強制(きょうせい)猥褻(わいせつ)罪(ざい): crime of indecent assault
• 公然(こうぜん)猥褻(わいせつ)罪(ざい): crime of public indecency
• 猥褻(わいせつ)容疑(ようぎ): suspicion of indecency

Similar words

• いやらしい: lewd; creepy; nasty — everyday, subjective reaction; can apply to suggestive jokes or a 'creepy' manner, not limited to illegal conduct.
• エッチ: naughty; sexual — colloquial and often light-hearted.
• 淫(みだ)ら: lewd; indecent — literary, moral-judgment tone.
• 卑(ひ)わい: obscene; vulgar — close synonym, often applied to language specifically.
• 下品(げひん): vulgar; crude — broader; covers non-sexual bad taste as well.

Legal note

日本(にほん)の刑法(けいほう) (Japanese Penal Code) uses 猥褻(わいせつ) as a legal technical term. In modern statutes, some offense names have been revised (e.g. '強制(きょうせい)わいせつ罪(ざい)' was restructured into '不同意(ふどうい)わいせつ罪(ざい)' in the 2023 revision), but 猥褻(わいせつ)/わいせつ remains the core word.