How to say "attorney" in Japanese

• 弁護士べんごしCommon
  nounThe word for an attorney as a legal professional: a lawyer who advises clients and represents them in court. Use this whenever 'attorney' means a practicing lawyer.
  その弁護士べんごしへの謝礼しゃれいはとても高たかかった。↗

  The lawyer's fee was very high.
• 法曹ほうそうCommon
  nounCovers attorney in the sense of a member of the legal profession as a whole, including judges and prosecutors. For an individual lawyer it is not the word you want; use 弁護士.
• 代理人だいりにんCommon
  nounAttorney only in the sense of someone appointed to act on another's behalf, as in 'power of attorney'; it really means proxy or agent. For a lawyer, this is not the word you want.
  すぐにあなたの代理人だいりにんに連絡れんらくを取とりなさい。↗

  Get in touch with your agent right away.

Choose 弁護士 for an attorney as a qualified legal professional who represents clients; use 法曹 when speaking of the legal profession as a whole; 代理人 fits only the sense of an agent appointed to act for someone else.

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

• 弁護士べんごしlawyer
• 法曹ほうそうlegal profession
• 代理人だいりにんproxy
• 代言人だいげんにんattorney
• 代言だいげんadvocacy
• 代理者だいりしゃproxy