暴力（ぼうりょく、bouryoku）
- violence

The Japanese word 暴力 ([暴力]) means "violence," "brutality," or "force." It refers to the use of physical force or power to cause harm, injury, damage, or coercion. It can encompass a wide range of actions, from physical assault to intimidation. The core concept is the intentional application of power to control or harm someone or something.

⚫︎彼は、政治的暴力は絶対にいけないと言った。 Translation: He said that political violence is absolutely unacceptable. ⚫︎その事件は、暴力事件として報道された。 Translation: The incident was reported as a violent crime. ⚫︎警察は暴力行為を阻止するために介入した。 Translation: The police intervened to stop the violent behavior.

You use 暴力 in situations where you want to describe an act or instance of violence. This could include discussing crime, conflicts, protests, personal altercations, or any situation where force is used. It's suitable for formal and informal contexts. Depending on the context, you might combine it with other words to be more specific, like 身体暴力（physical violence） or 家庭暴力（domestic violence).

暴力 is written in kanji. The reading is ぼうりょく in hiragana. There are no other common ways to write this word. The okurigana (suffix hiragana) remains consistent.

⚫︎暴行（bōkō) - assault, battery ⚫︎乱暴（ranbō) - roughness, violence (more general, can also mean rude behavior) ⚫︎攻撃（kōgeki) - attack ⚫︎強要（kyōyō) - coercion

⚫︎平和（heiwa) - peace ⚫︎非暴力（hi-[暴力]) - nonviolence ⚫︎穏やかさ（odayakasa) - calmness, gentleness ⚫︎協調（kyōchō) - cooperation

その映画は暴力シーンが多くて、子供には向いていない。 ・Translation: That movie has a lot of violent scenes and is not suitable for children. ・Explanation: This sentence uses 暴力 to describe the content of a movie, specifically mentioning the prevalence of violent scenes.

政府は暴力を撲滅するために、新しい法律を制定した。 ・Translation: The government enacted a new law to eradicate violence. ・Explanation: This sentence shows 暴力 in the context of government action, emphasizing their effort to eliminate violent acts.

The word 暴力 is a compound word derived from two kanji. 暴（bō) means "outburst," "rage," or "violent" and 力（ryoku or chikara） means "power," "force," or "strength." Together, they form a word that precisely conveys the idea of using force or power violently.