It’s time for our daily Japanese vocabulary! It’s important to study a little bit every day, so let’s work hard to remember one new word every single day.
Today’s word is… hinkouhousei!
~ Please remember that I use a mix of formal and casual Japanese in these posts! I use the type of language often found in shoujo manga~
Note: the photo is from chapter 1, volume 1 of Brutal
What does hinkouhousei mean?
Hinkouhousei is a “yojijukugo”. An easy translation to explain what a yojijukugo is, is a proverb. These proverbs are always made up of four Kanji characters. Some of these yojijukugo are only used in writing, and others are used commonly in daily conversation. So, let’s work together to remember a few!
Here are some examples of how we can translation today’s word, hinkouhousei, into English: high morals, good conduct, proper behaviour.
The Kanji, it’s meaning, and it’s reading in hiragana
We can use the following Kanji characters to write hinkouhousei: 品行方正.
In this word, we can break down the kanji’s readings and English meanings as:
品：ひん. High quality, refined
行：こう. To conduct (behaviour)
方：ほう. Direction
正：せい. Correct
We can write “hinkouhousei” using hiragana like this: ひんこうほうせい.
Let’s try using ひんこうほうせい・品行方正・hinkouhousei in a sentence!
Example 1
English: She’s always praised as being upstanding but, don’t you think she’s hiding something?
Romaji only: Kanojo wa itsumo minna ni hinkouhousei da to homerareteiru ga, nanika o kakushiteiru to omowanai?
Hiragana only: かのじょ は いつも みんな に ひんこうほうせい だ と ほめられている が、なにか を かくしている と おもわない？
Final: 彼女はいつもみんなに品行方正だと褒められているが、何かを隠していると思わない？
Example 2
English: That that proper man would have feelings for me!
Romaji only: Ano hinkouhousei na kare ga, watashi ni kyoumi o matteiru nante!
Hiragana only: あの ひんこうほうせい な かれ が、わたし に きょうみ を もっている なんて！
Final: あの品行方正な彼が、私に興味を持っているなんて！
Example 3
English: I’ll become an adult who is said to be of high morals, and make my parents proud.
Romaji only: Hinkouhousei datte iwareru otona ni natte, ryoushin ni hokori ni omotte morau wa.
Hiragana only: ひんこうほうせい だって いわれる おとな に なって、りょうしん に ほこり に おもって もらう わ。
Final: 品行方正だって言われる大人になって、両親に誇りに思ってもらうわ.
Example 4
English: Is a person with high morals, someone who always preaches what’s right?
Romaji only: Hinkouhousei na hito tte, seiron bakari iu hito desu ka?
Hiragana only: ひんこうほうせい な ひと って、せいろん ばかり いう ひと ですか？
Final: 品行方正な人って、正論ばかり言う人ですか？
Example 5
English: As she’s an upstanding person, it seems like she’s always being depended on by the teachers.
Romaji only: Kanojo ha hinkouhousei na hito nanode, sensei ni itsumo tayorareteiru rashii.
Hiragana only: かのじょ は ひんこうほうせい な ひと なので、せんせい に いつも たよられている らしい。
Final: 彼女は品行方正な人なので、先生にいつも頼られているらしい。
Was my post helpful? I hope you learnt something! If you want to support me so that I can continue to share my love of all things shoujo, you can always buy me a coffee!
Maddies Manga 
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