How to say "ape" in Japanese

• さるJLPT N3approx.Common
  nounThe everyday word for non-human primates, including the Japanese macaque; it can also gloss 'ape' but usually just names the animal in general talk. Use it in ordinary contexts like zoos or wildlife.
  何なん匹ひきかのサルが木きに登のぼっているのを見みた。↗

  I saw some monkeys climbing the tree.
• 類人猿るいじんえんCommon
  nounCovers 'ape' in the specific sense of anthropoid apes — gorillas, chimpanzees and the like — as a biological category distinguished from monkeys. Choose it in scientific or descriptive writing about primates.
  なぜ類人るいじん猿さるは他たの動物どうぶつよりも進化しんかしたのか。↗

  Why have the apes evolved more than other animals?

Use 「さる」 for the everyday animal word, covering monkeys and apes generally; use 類人猿 when you specifically mean the biological category of anthropoid apes as distinct from monkeys.

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

• さるmonkey (esp. the Japanese macaque, Macaca fuscata)
• 類人猿るいじんえんanthropoid ape
• エテ公えてこうmonkey
• ひとにざるanthropoid ape