潔癖(けっぺき)

けっぺき
noun, na-adjective
fastidiousness; obsessive cleanliness; perfectionism about purity
personality
1. fastidiousness about cleanliness; germaphobia
An extreme concern with cleanliness and hygiene, often to the point of being unable to tolerate dirt or germs.
彼(かれ)は潔癖(けっぺき)症(しょう)だ。
He has an obsession with cleanliness.
潔癖(けっぺき)すぎて、他人(たにん)のコップを使(つか)えない。
She is so fastidious about cleanliness that she can't use other people's cups.
潔癖(けっぺき)な性格(せいかく)のせいで、共同生活(きょうどうせいかつ)がうまくいかないことがある。
Because of her fastidious personality, communal living sometimes doesn't go well.
2. moral fastidiousness; moral rigidity
An uncompromising insistence on moral purity or correctness, unable to tolerate even minor ethical lapses.
道徳的(どうとくてき)に潔癖(けっぺき)な人(ひと)だ。
He is a morally fastidious person.
金銭(きんせん)に関(かん)しては潔癖(けっぺき)だ。
He is scrupulous when it comes to money.
政治家(せいじか)には潔癖(けっぺき)さが求(もと)められるが、現実(げんじつ)には妥協(だきょう)も必要(ひつよう)だ。
Politicians are expected to be morally upright, but in reality compromises are also necessary.

Functions both as a noun and as a na-adjective (潔癖(けっぺき)な). Sense 1 (cleanliness obsession) is more common in everyday conversation, while sense 2 (moral strictness) appears more in written or formal contexts. The compound 潔癖(けっぺき)症(しょう) is very common and implies a near-pathological level of cleanliness obsession.

Common collocations

Similar words

  • きれい好(ず)き: cleanliness-loving — a milder, more positive term for liking cleanliness
  • 神経質(しんけいしつ): nervous; neurotic — broader term for being overly sensitive or anxious about things
  • 几帳面(きちょうめん): meticulous; precise — focuses on being methodical and orderly, not specifically about cleanliness

Related Words

Compare: 神経質(しんけいしつ) (nervous)
Compare: 几帳面(きちょうめん) (meticulous)
general
Added 2026.5.6 1:19 · Revised 2026.9.2 13:02
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