被告人は自分の行為を正当化しようと努めた。

accused; defendant; prisoner at the bar

topic marker particle; indicates contrast with another option (stated or unstated); adds emphasis

myself; yourself; oneself; himself; herself; I; me; you

indicates possessive; nominalizes verbs and adjectives; substitutes for "ga" in subordinate phrases; (at sentence-end, falling tone) indicates a confident conclusion; (at sentence-end) indicates emotional emphasis; (at sentence-end, rising tone) indicates question

act; deed; conduct

indicates direct object of action; indicates subject of causative expression; indicates an area traversed; indicates time (period) over which action takes place; indicates point of departure or separation of action; indicates object of desire, like, hate, etc.

justification; warrant

to do; to cause to become; to make (into); to turn (into); to serve as; to act as; to work as; to wear (clothes, a facial expression, etc.); to judge as being; to view as being; to think of as; to treat as; to use as; to decide on; to choose; to be sensed (of a smell, noise, etc.); to be (in a state, condition, etc.); to be worth; to cost; to pass (of time); to elapse; verbalizing suffix (applies to nouns noted in this dictionary with the part of speech "vs"); creates a humble verb (after a noun prefixed with "o" or "go"); to be just about to; to be just starting to; to try to; to attempt to

if; when; and; with; particle used for quoting (with speech, thoughts, etc.); quoting particle; promoted pawn; indicates question (sentence end)

to endeavor (endeavour); to try; to strive; to make an effort; to exert oneself; to be diligent; to be committed (to doing something)