How to say "ambush" in Japanese

• 待ち伏せまちぶせCommon
  noun, suru verb, transitive verbThe general word for the act of ambushing: hiding and waiting along someone's path to attack or intercept them. Use it for most everyday senses of 'ambush', whether by criminals or in warfare.
• 潜伏せんぷくCommon
  noun, suru verb, intransitive verbChiefly means concealment or hiding out — lying low to avoid detection, as a fugitive does. It is only a marginal way to say 'ambush': it names the hiding, not the attack itself.
  容疑者ようぎしゃは三さん週間しゅうかん山さんに潜伏せんぷくしていた。↗

  The suspect was hiding out in the mountains for three weeks.
• 伏兵ふくへいCommon
  nounA military term for troops concealed and waiting to attack — an ambushing force rather than the act of ambushing. Think of soldiers hidden along an enemy's route of advance.
• 張り込みはりこみCommon
  nounIn practice the word for a police stakeout: officers waiting quietly at a spot to catch a suspect. Its 'ambush' sense is this waiting-in-place; for a surprise attack it is not the usual choice.

Use 「待ち伏せ」 for the general act of lying in wait to attack, 伏兵 for troops in ambush, 潜伏 for hiding out rather than the ambush itself, and 「張り込み」 for police stakeouts.

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

• 待ち伏せまちぶせambush
• 潜伏せんぷくconcealment
• 伏兵ふくへいambush
• 張り込みはりこみstakeout
• 待ち伏せるまちぶせるto ambush
• アンブッシュambush
• 要撃ようげきambush
• 伏勢ふくぜいambush
• 伏撃ふくげきambush
• 奇襲攻撃きしゅうこうげきsurprise attack