言語道断

• 読み: ごんごどうだん
• ローマ字: gongo dodan
• 漢字の分解: 言語 (gongo) — language, words; 道 (dou) — path, way; 断 (dan) — cut off, sever
• 発音: /ɡo.ŋ.ɡo.do.ː.da.ɴ/

意味

Outrageous; unspeakable; utterly preposterous; beyond words.

A na-adjective or noun derived from a Buddhist phrase meaning that something is so extreme it is 'beyond the path of language' — it cannot be expressed in words. In modern Japanese it is a strong expression of condemnation, used when something is so inappropriate or unacceptable that it defies normal expression. Often used in formal protests or moral judgements.

例文

1. 公金を私的に流用するとは言語道断だ。
2. そのような暴言は言語道断であり、即刻謝罪すべきだ。
3. 本来守るべき立場の人間がこんな行為をするとは、言語道断としか言いようがない。

使い方ガイド

場面: condemnation, moral judgement, protest, speeches

トーン: negative

起源と歴史

A Buddhist term: 言語 (gonogo, language/words) and 道断 (dodan, the way being cut off). Something so profound — or so terrible — that the path of verbal expression is severed. Over time it shifted from the transcendent to the indignant.

文化的背景

時代: Buddhist/Classical–Modern

世代: Adults

社会的背景: Universal