免罪符

• 読み: めんざいふ
• ローマ字: menzaifu
• 漢字の分解: 免 (men) — excuse, absolve; 罪 (zai/tsumi) — sin, crime; 符 (fu) — talisman, sign, document
• 発音: /me̞nzaɪ̯ɸɯ/

意味

Indulgence; a free pass; an excuse used to absolve oneself of responsibility.

Originally referred to the Catholic indulgence sold to absolve sins. In contemporary Japanese it is used metaphorically — often critically or ironically — to describe any pretext, justification, or excuse that someone uses to escape accountability. The tone is nearly always critical, implying that the excuse is illegitimate.

例文

1. 善意だからといって免罪符にはならない。
2. 彼の謝罪は免罪符のように使われ、問題の本質は何も変わらなかった。
3. 不景気を免罪符にして失敗の責任を逃れようとする経営者が多い。

使い方ガイド

場面: criticism, journalism, social commentary, politics

トーン: critical

起源と歴史

From the historical Catholic practice of selling letters of indulgence (免罪符). The term entered Japanese through contact with Portuguese and Dutch missionaries in the 16th century and later became a general metaphor for illegitimate absolution.

文化的背景

時代: Modern

世代: Adults

社会的背景: Educated