How to say "censorship" in Japanese

• 検閲けんえつCommon
  noun, suru verb, transitive verbThe common, general word for censorship: examining books, films, or online content and suppressing or removing whatever is deemed objectionable. Think of government censorship of the press or film censorship.
  「百八ひゃくはちといえば煩悩ぼんのうの数かずだ」「お兄にいちゃんはどんな煩悩ぼんのうがあるの？」「言いってもいいが、検閲けんえつ削除さくじょになるぞ」↗

  "Talking about 108, that's the number of worldly passions." "What worldly passions have you got then?" "I could say, but it'll get censored out."
• 言論弾圧げんろんだんあつ
  nounLess common; it means suppression of speech or dissent, stressing forceful repression, as by an authoritarian government. For plain 'censorship' it is seldom the word you want — it is really 'suppression of speech'.

Use 検閲, the common word, for censorship in the sense of examining media and removing objectionable content; 言論弾圧, less common, targets the suppression of speech or dissent and matches English 'censorship' only in that broader, harsher sense.

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

• 検閲けんえつcensorship
• 言論弾圧げんろんだんあつsuppression of speech