How to say "citation" in Japanese

Choosing the right word
  • 召喚しょうかんCommon
    noun, suru verb, transitive verbCovers the legal sense of 'citation': an official summons or subpoena ordering a person to appear before a court. It has nothing to do with quoting texts or sources.
    彼かれは証言しょうげんをするために召喚しょうかんされた。↗
    He was called to give evidence.
  • 引用いんようJLPT N3approx.Common
    suru verb, transitive verb, no-adjectiveFor 'citation' meaning a quotation or reference to a source — in essays, papers, bibliographies — this is the word. It covers both quoting a passage directly and simply referring to it.
    ハムレットから1行ぎょう引用いんようできますか。↗
    Can you quote a line of Hamlet?
  • 羅列られつCommon
    noun, suru verb, transitive verb, intransitive verbReally means an enumeration — items set down one after another, often with a nuance of rambling or disorder. Seldom the word you want for 'citation' in the quoting sense.
    彼かれの日記にっきは出来事できごとの羅列られつに近ちかかった。もっとも時ときには、長々ながながと記述きじゅつすることもあった。↗
    His diary was a kind of list of events, though he commented at length once in a while.
  • 援用えんようCommon
    noun, suru verb, transitive verbCitation in the sense of invoking a precedent or another person's words as support for one's own argument; nearer to 'invocation' than to quoting for its own sake.

Choose 引用 for citing or quoting sources in writing, 援用 for invoking a precedent to support an argument, 召喚 for the legal citation ordering someone to appear, and 羅列 for mere enumeration rather than citation.

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

Japanese equivalents
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JLPT vocabulary levels are community estimates, not official (no official lists have been published since the 2010 revision).

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