How to say "aircraft" in Japanese
Choosing the right word
- 航空機こうくうきnounAircraft in the broad sense: the general word for flying machines of any type, airplanes included. Typical contexts are news reports, official documents and technical writing about aviation.
- 飛行機ひこうきnounThe everyday word for an airplane; the right choice when English 'aircraft' means a plane, as in talk about flights and air travel. It is not the general term for aircraft — for that, 航空機.
Use 航空機 for aircraft as a general category — flying machines of any kind — and 飛行機 when you mean an airplane specifically; in everyday conversation about a plane, 飛行機 is the word.
Usage comparisons are AI-assisted and cross-checked by multiple models; for study reference only
Japanese equivalents
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