The Buddha shares in brief the four kinds of verbal misconduct - 1) lying, 2) divisive speech, 3) harsh speech, and 4) frivolous chatter.

AN 4.148  Duccarita sutta - Misconduct

“Cattārimāni, bhikkhave, vacīduccaritāni. Katamāni cattāri?

“Bhikkhus, there are these four kinds of |verbal misconduct::misbehavior in speech [vacīduccarit]|. What four?

1 Musāvādo,

1 |False speech::lying, deliberately speaking falsehood [musāvāda]|,

2 pisuṇā vācā,

2 |divisive speech::slanderous, defamatory, malicious speech [pisuṇavācā]|,

3 pharusā vācā,

3 |harsh speech::abusive, rude, or unkind way of speaking [pharusāvācā]|,

4 samphappalāpo

4 |frivolous chatter::meaningless talk, gossip, idle speech [samphappalāpa]|.

Imāni kho, bhikkhave, cattāri vacīduccaritānī”ti.

These are the four kinds of verbal misconduct.”

Qualities:

Last updated on October 22, 2025