JLPT N1 · な-adjective

冷酷 (reikoku)

冷酷 (れいこく, reikoku) is a Japanese な-adjective meaning “cruelty; coldheartedness”. It appears in JLPT N1 vocabulary lists and is marked as a common word in JMdict.

Reading: れいこく
Romaji: reikoku
Word class: な-adjective
Level: JLPT N1 (unofficial)

Meaning

cruelty; coldheartedness; relentless; ruthless · な-adjective, noun

Example sentences

犬を叩くなんて彼は冷酷だ。

It was cruel of him to beat his dog.

Tatoeba #175222

Sentences from the Tatoeba project, linked to this word in JMdict.

Conjugation of 冷酷

な-adjective. Plain and polite forms below; try any other word in the Japanese verb conjugator.

Form	Japanese	Reading
Present (plain)	冷酷だ	れいこくだ reikokuda
Present (polite)	冷酷です	れいこくです reikokudesu
Negative	冷酷じゃない	れいこくじゃない reikokujanai
Past	冷酷だった	れいこくだった reikokudatta
Negative past	冷酷じゃなかった	れいこくじゃなかった reikokujanakatta
Te-form	冷酷で	れいこくで reikokude
Before a noun	冷酷な	れいこくな reikokuna
Adverb (~ni)	冷酷に	れいこくに reikokuni

Kanji in 冷酷

冷

cool, cold (beer, person), chillレイ・つめ.たい・ひ.える · 7 strokes

酷

cruel, severe, atrociousコク・ひど.い · 14 strokes

Related words

Other vocabulary sharing a kanji with 冷酷.

冷たいつめたいcold (to the touch)冷蔵庫れいぞうこrefrigerator冷房れいぼうair conditioning冷えるひえるto grow cold冷静れいせいcalmness冷ますさますto cool (e.g. from a high temperature to room temperature)冷めるさめるto cool down冷やすひやすto cool冷凍れいとうfreezing冷蔵れいぞうcold storage冷淡れいたんcool冷やかすひやかすto banter残酷ざんこくcruel

Source: JMdict entry 1556980 (EDRDG, CC BY-SA 4.0). Level: unofficial JLPT list – how levels are assigned.