Meaning
弊 (on'yomi: ヘイ) carries two distinct meanings — and in formal Japanese, you'll encounter both regularly.
The first is harm, evil, vice, or corrupt practice: something damaging, morally corrupt, or a harmful tendency in an organization or society. 弊害 means "harmful effects" or "adverse influence"; 語弊 flags a misleading expression that risks misunderstanding.
The second role is a humble prefix in keigo (敬語, honorific speech): referring to one's own company, shop, or office with deliberate self-deprecation. Writing 弊社 translates roughly as "our humble company." This isn't ceremonial filler — it signals respect toward the recipient. You'll see 弊社 in virtually every formal business email, and it's one of the first keigo expressions office workers learn to write.
Structurally, 弊 combines 敝 (worn out, tattered) above 廾 (both hands raised). Tattered cloth held out in both hands suggests something deteriorated and offered humbly — that image feeds both meanings at once. Deterioration gives "harm"; the open-handed gesture of presenting something modest gives the humble prefix. Imagine a businessman bowing and thinking, "Please accept our worn, humble company" — that is 弊社 in spirit.
With 15 strokes, 弊 appears in the high school Joyo list and on the JLPT N1 exam. It comes up most often in business writing, editorials, and formal correspondence.
Readings
On'yomi (音読み) — Chinese-derived readings
One reading covers everything: ヘイ (hei). Derived from Middle Chinese, it applies equally to harm-and-evil compounds and humble prefix words. With no kun'yomi in the picture, 弊 is unusually clean — one reading, reliably used across all contexts.
Compounds in the harm and vice sense:
- 弊害 (heigai) — harmful effect, adverse influence; used in social and political criticism
- 語弊 (gohei) — misleading expression; invoked when correcting ambiguous or offensive wording
- 悪弊 (akuhei) — bad habit, evil practice; a deeply entrenched corrupt custom
- 旧弊 (kyūhei) — old-fashioned vice; outmoded practices that persist harmfully
- 通弊 (tsūhei) — common fault; a widespread negative tendency shared across a group or society
Compounds in the humble prefix sense:
- 弊社 (heisha) — our company (humble, used by speaker's own company)
- 弊店 (heiten) — our store (humble)
- 弊所 (heisho) — our office or firm (humble; common for law offices and clinics)
- 弊誌 (heishi) — our magazine or publication (humble, used by publishers)
Kun'yomi (訓読み) — Native Japanese readings
No kun'yomi exist for 弊. It came into Japanese from Chinese without mapping onto a pre-existing Japanese word, so no native reading ever developed. In practice, 弊 always appears inside compound words — never standalone. Just remember ヘイ, and you're covered.
Common Words & Compounds
弊 splits into two clear word groups: humble business terms and words for harm or corrupt practice. The business terms appear daily in Japanese offices; the harm terms surface in news, editorials, and social commentary.
Business Humble Language (謙譲語) — used to humbly refer to one's own organization or institution:
- 弊社 (heisha) — our company; the most common humble term in business Japanese, appearing constantly in emails and formal documents
- 弊店 (heiten) — our shop or store; used by retail businesses in formal communication
- 弊所 (heisho) — our office or firm; favored by law offices, accounting firms, and medical clinics
- 弊誌 (heishi) — our magazine; used by publishing companies in formal correspondence
- 弊行 (heikō) — our bank; used by banking institutions in official communication
Harm, Vice, and Negative Practices:
- 弊害 (heigai) — harmful effect, adverse influence; used in social and political discourse
- 語弊 (gohei) — misleading expression; used when correcting ambiguous or potentially offensive wording
- 悪弊 (akuhei) — bad habit, evil practice; a deeply entrenched corrupt custom
- 旧弊 (kyūhei) — old-fashioned vice; outmoded practices that persist harmfully
- 通弊 (tsūhei) — common fault; a negative tendency widely shared across a group or society
- 弊習 (heishū) — bad custom, evil habit; an ingrained harmful social practice
- 弊風 (heifū) — corrupt social trend; a harmful tendency that has spread through a community or era
Example Sentences
弊社は来週より新しいサービスを開始いたします。
Heisha wa raishū yori atarashii sābisu o kaishi itashimasu.
Our company will begin a new service starting next week.
このたびは弊社の製品をご購入いただき、ありがとうございます。
Kono tabi wa heisha no seihin o go-kōnyū itadaki, arigatō gozaimasu.
Thank you very much for purchasing our company's product.
過労は健康に弊害をもたらすことがある。
Karō wa kenkō ni heigai o motarasu koto ga aru.
Overwork can have harmful effects on one's health.
その表現には語弊があるので、言い直してください。
Sono hyōgen ni wa gohei ga aru no de, ii naoshite kudasai.
That expression is misleading, so please rephrase it.
旧弊を打破して、新しい文化を作り上げましょう。
Kyūhei o daha shite, atarashii bunka o tsukuri agemasho.
Let's break free from outdated customs and build a new culture.
弊店では、毎日新鮮な食材を使用しております。
Heiten de wa, mainichi shinsen na shokuzai o shiyō shite orimasu.
At our store, we use fresh ingredients every day.
悪弊を断ち切ることは難しいが、必要なことだ。
Akuhei o tachikiru koto wa muzukashii ga, hitsuyō na koto da.
Breaking away from bad habits is difficult, but necessary.
弊所にご連絡いただければ、詳細をご説明いたします。
Heisho ni go-renraku itadakereba, shōsai o go-setsumei itashimasu.
If you contact our office, we will explain the details to you.
通弊として、会議が長引く傾向がある。
Tsūhei to shite, kaigi ga nagabiku keikō ga aru.
A common organizational fault: meetings that drag on too long.
弊社の担当者が後日ご連絡させていただきます。
Heisha no tantōsha ga gojitsu go-renraku sasete itadakimasu.
A representative from our company will contact you at a later date.
Memory Tip
Picture a company employee bowing deeply, holding out both hands (廾, the bottom radical) while wearing a tattered, worn-out uniform (敝, the top component). One image, two meanings: the worn clothing represents something harmful or deteriorated (弊害), while the humble bow with open hands represents the keigo gesture of offering "our modest company" (弊社).
Think of a bad habit held up for inspection, or a business card offered with a deep bow. Either way, something imperfect is being presented with both hands. That tension — worn out yet earnestly offered — is the emotional core of 弊. Worn out at the top, hands open at the bottom.