How to say "clause" in Japanese

• 条項じょうこうCommon
  nounA clause, article, or stipulation within a law, contract, or agreement; for the legal sense of 'clause' — one provision of a larger document — this is the word to reach for.
  最初さいしょの条項じょうこうには何なんと書かいてあるか。↗

  How does the first article run?
• 項目こうもくJLPT N2approx.Common
  nounReally means an item or heading — an entry in a list or a heading in a document; its 'clause' sense is marginal, so it is seldom the word for a legal clause.
  これは何なんの項目こうもくに入はいるか。↗

  What heading does this come under?
• 約款やっかんCommon
  nounA contract's stipulations taken as a whole — its terms and conditions; it corresponds to 'clause' only in that contractual sense, not to a single clause of a law or document.

Choose 条項 for a clause of a law or contract; treat 項目 as 'item' or 'heading', with 'clause' only a marginal sense; 約款 covers the stipulated terms of an agreement rather than a single clause.

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

• 条項じょうこうclause
• 項目こうもくitem
• 約款やっかんagreement
• 項こうclause
• 条じょうarticle (in a document)
• クローズclause
• 文節ぶんせつphrase
• 箇条かじょうitem
• 条目じょうもくarticle
• 条款じょうかんstipulation
• 節せつclause
• 句くclause (e.g. in a database query language)