自責

1. Origins, structure, and basic meaning

• Structure: The spelling is 自責, read じせき, and it combines 自, meaning oneself, with 責, meaning blame or responsibility.
• Basic usage: The basic sense of 自責 is self-blame: attributing a fault or failure to oneself and reproaching oneself for it.

2. Common pitfalls and similar expressions

• Responsibility versus emotional burden
  • Both examples use the form 自責. The focus is on the distress of blaming oneself rather than on an objective determination of responsibility.
• Responding to excessive self-blame
  • 失敗をすべて自分のせいだと思い、自責の念に苦しんだ。 — Believing the failure was entirely my fault, I suffered from intense self-blame.
  • 過度な自責をやめ、次にできることを考えよう。 — Let go of excessive self-blame and think about what you can do next.