How to say "cardinal" in Japanese

• 枢機卿すうききょうCommon
  nounThe common word for a cardinal of the Catholic Church, a high-ranking cleric. Use it for the ecclesiastical sense, not for the bird or for the figurative 'most important' sense of 'cardinal'.
• カーディナル
  nounA katakana loanword for a Catholic cardinal (prelate). It is less common than 枢機卿, which is the word to choose for this sense; for the bird, 紅冠鳥 is the term.
• 紅冠鳥こうかんちょう
  nounThe word for the bird — the cardinal, Cardinalis cardinalis, with its red crest. A less common word; use it only for the bird, never for the churchman or the 'most important' sense.
• 枢要すうよう
  na-adjective, no-adjectiveCovers the adjectival sense of 'cardinal' — 'most important; principal; key', as in 'a cardinal rule'. A less common word, and not a word for the churchman or the bird.
  国家こっかの文化ぶんかとアイデンティティという枢要すうような問題もんだいから切り離きりはなされた時点じてんで、比較ひかく文化ぶんかはその方向性ほうこうせいを失うしなう。↗

  Once divorced from key questions of national culture and identity, comparative literature loses its way.

Use 枢機卿, the common word, for a Catholic cardinal; 「カーディナル」 is a less common loanword for the same sense; 紅冠鳥 is the bird; 枢要 renders the figurative 'cardinal' meaning 'most important, key'.

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

• 枢機卿すうききょうcardinal (Catholic Church)
• カーディナルcardinal (Catholic prelate)
• 紅冠鳥こうかんちょうcardinal (bird) (Cardinalis cardinalis)
• 枢要すうよう(most) important