How to say "autumn" in Japanese

• 秋あきJLPT N5approx.Common
  noun, adverbThe everyday word for the season itself, covering both 'autumn' and 'fall'. Use it for almost any mention of the season — the weather, the time of year, plans or events in autumn.
  秋あきには木の葉このはが落おちる。↗

  Leaves fall in the autumn.
• オータム
  nounA katakana loanword from English. Less common than 秋, it carries a Western, slightly fashionable flavor and tends to appear in commercial or stylish contexts rather than plain statements about the season.
• 草枯れくさがれ
  nounA less common word, literally 'the withering of the grass': it evokes the bare landscape of late autumn rather than the season as a whole, so for plain 'autumn' you want 秋.
• 白秋はくしゅう
  nounA poetical term, less common than 秋, drawing on the five elements of Chinese philosophy, in which autumn is linked with the color white. It belongs to poetry and literary writing rather than everyday speech.
• 秋日しゅうじつ
  nounA less common word for autumn, literally 'autumn day(s)'. Its meaning is the same as 秋's, and wherever it fits, 秋 fits too, so learners can safely pass it by.

Choose 秋 for the season in almost any context; 「オータム」 is a less common loanword with a stylish flavor, while 「草枯れ」, 白秋 and 秋日 are less common words you will rarely need yourself.

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

• 秋あきautumn
• オータムautumn
• 草枯れくさがれautumn
• 白秋はくしゅうautumn (from the five elements in Chinese philosophy)
• 秋日しゅうじつautumn