Translation guide
The quality of being loyal, reliable, and true to someone or something. In Japanese, this concept is expressed through words for loyalty, fidelity, and sincerity, with nuances depending on the relationship and context.
Expressing steadfast allegiance or devotion, especially in personal relationships, to a master, or to an organization.
Loyalty or allegiance, often used in formal contexts such as loyalty to a country, company, or leader. Can feel strong and solemn.
彼は王に忠誠を誓った。
He swore loyalty to the king.
Faithful, loyal, and true. Often used for being faithful to a person, duty, or principles. Can also mean 'accurate' or 'true to the original'.
彼は妻に忠実だ。
He is faithful to his wife.
この翻訳は原文に忠実だ。
This translation is faithful to the original text.
Sincerity and faithfulness, emphasizing honesty and integrity in one's actions and character. Often used in personal relationships and work ethics.
彼は誠実な人だ。
He is a faithful and sincere person.
Duty, obligation, or a sense of honor and loyalty in social relationships. Often implies faithfulness born from social expectation rather than personal affection.
彼は義理を重んじる。
He values faithfulness and duty.
Specifically referring to being sexually or emotionally faithful to a partner.
Chastity or fidelity, especially in marriage. Often used for women historically, but can be gender-neutral in modern contexts.
彼女は夫に貞節を守った。
She remained faithful to her husband.
Chastity, fidelity, or constancy, often with a poetic or literary nuance. Can refer to a person's moral integrity in relationships.
Literally 'not cheating', this is the most common and natural way to express faithfulness in a romantic relationship in everyday conversation.
彼は絶対に浮気をしない。
He is absolutely faithful (never cheats).
Being true to a source, such as a translation, reproduction, or account.
As above, but used for faithfulness to an original work, text, or fact. Very common in this sense.
この映画は原作に忠実だ。
This movie is faithful to the original work.
Accurate, precise. While not directly 'faithfulness', it conveys the idea of being true to facts or details.
Faithfulness in a religious sense, such as fidelity to God or religious principles.
Religious faith or belief. Often used for faithfulness to a religion or deity.
彼は信仰を守り続けた。
He remained faithful to his faith.
Piety, devotion, or religious faithfulness. Slightly more personal and heartfelt than 信仰.
忠実 (ちゅうじつ) emphasizes loyalty and adherence to a person, duty, or original. 誠実 (せいじつ) emphasizes sincerity and honesty in character. Use 忠実 for 'faithful to someone/something', and 誠実 for 'faithful as a sincere person'.
The English noun 'faithfulness' often does not translate directly into a single Japanese noun. It is more natural to use adjectives like 忠実な or verb phrases like 浮気をしない depending on context.
She remained faithful throughout her life.
彼の報告は正確だ。
His report is accurate (faithful to the facts).
彼女の信心は深い。
Her faithfulness (devotion) is deep.