How to say "alcoholism" in Japanese

• アル中アルちゅうCommon
  nounColloquial abbreviation for alcoholism; it often refers to an alcoholic person rather than the condition, as in casual chat about a friend's drinking, and it can sound blunt.
  そんなにがぶがぶ飲のみ続つづけると、アル中あるちゅうになるのがオチですよ。↗

  If you go on drinking so much, you may well end up an alcoholic.
• アルコール中毒アルコールちゅうどく
  nounCovers alcoholism and alcohol addiction, but its literal sense is alcohol poisoning, so it can be ambiguous; use it when the physical poisoning or the addiction itself is at issue.
  彼女かのじょはアルコール中毒あるこーるちゅうどくだ。↗

  She is addicted to alcohol.
• 酒害しゅがい
  nounRefers to the harmful effects of drinking — the diseases and problems alcohol causes — more than to alcoholism itself, so it is seldom the word for the condition; typical of public-health discussions of drinking.
• アルコール依存症アルコールいぞんしょう
  nounThe clinical term: alcoholism as a dependency disorder, the word used in medical settings for diagnosis and treatment; the safest choice when you mean the condition itself.
• アルコホリック
  nounA loanword from English 'alcoholic'; it chiefly denotes a person with alcoholism rather than the condition, so for 'alcoholism' itself it is marginal and seldom the word you want.

Choose 「アルコール依存症」 for alcoholism as a medical condition, 「アル中」 for casual talk, 「アルコール中毒」 when alcohol poisoning or the addiction itself is meant, 酒害 for alcohol's harmful effects, and 「アルコホリック」 mainly for an alcoholic person.

Usage comparisons are AI-assisted and cross-checked by multiple models; for study reference only

• アル中アルちゅうalcoholism
• アルコール中毒アルコールちゅうどくalcoholism
• 酒害しゅがいdiseases and problems caused by alcohol use
• アルコール依存症アルコールいぞんしょうalcohol dependency
• アルコホリックalcoholic