The Meaning of iiwake [言い訳] In Japanese

言い訳
いいわけ
Romaji: iiwake N4

What does 言い訳 mean?

Translation and Meaning

excuse, justification, pretext, rationalization

Definition

言い訳 means an excuse or justification offered to defend oneself or avoid blame. It denotes a spoken explanation that reframes a mistake or shortcoming as excusable, and may be sincere or used to deflect responsibility.

Type

Noun (名詞)

Stroke Order

Meanings

  • The primary sense as an excuse or justification offered to defend oneself or avoid blame
  • A nuance implying insincerity or an attempt to shift responsibility
  • The verb form 言い訳をする describes the act of making excuses

Etymology

言い is the ren’yōkei of 言う, and 訳 means reason or explanation; their combination yields a native compound for a spoken justification.

Composition

  • 言い: the stem of 言う (to say); い marks the ren’yōkei form
  • 訳: a noun meaning reason, explanation, or translation

Usage

Used as a noun to describe an excuse, typically appearing with 言い訳をする; common in casual speech to shift responsibility; in formal discourse, it’s often avoided or criticized.
💡 Tips
Mnemonic: think of ‘say’ plus ‘explanation’—ii wake—two simple parts that come together to form the idea of a spoken excuse.

Variations

  • 弁解 (benkai) — defense or apology, often more formal or sincere
  • 口実 (koujitsu) — pretext or excuse that hides the real reason
  • 言い逃れ (iinogare) — evasion or quibble that dodges accountability

Example Phrases

  • 彼は いつも 言い訳をして 時間を 無駄にする。
    Kare wa itsumo iiwake o shite jikan o muda ni suru.
    He always makes excuses and wastes time.
    Lista:
    • 彼は (Kare wa) – he
    • いつも (itsumo) – always
    • 言い訳をして (iiwake o shite) – making excuses
    • 時間を (jikan o) – time
    • 無駄にする (muda ni suru) – to waste
    In this context, the target word 「言い訳」 means ‘an excuse’; it is used with をして to mean ‘to make excuses’.
  • 彼は 今日も 幼稚な 言い訳を する。
    Kare wa kyō mo yōchi na iiwake o suru.
    He makes childish excuses again today.
    Lista:
    • 彼は (kare wa) – he
    • 今日も (kyō mo) – today as well
    • 幼稚な (yōchi na) – childish
    • 言い訳を (iiwake o) – excuse
    • する (suru) – to do
    Here 「幼稚」 functions as a na-adjective, forming 「幼稚な言い訳」 meaning ‘childish excuses’.
言い訳