How to say "damages" in Japanese

• 損害賠償そんがいばいしょうCommon
  nounCovers 'damages' in the legal sense: money paid to compensate for loss or injury. This is the term of lawsuits and formal claims, where one party seeks compensation for harm another has caused.
  私は彼かれに損害賠償そんがいばいしょうを要求ようきゅうした。↗

  I claimed damages against him.
• 賠償ばいしょうJLPT N1approx.Common
  noun, suru verb, transitive verbCovers compensation and reparations: the act of making good a loss or paying for damage done. For 'damages' as a legal claim, 損害賠償 is usually the fuller term, while 賠償 stresses the payment itself.
  彼かれは怪我けがの賠償ばいしょうとして多額たがくの金かねを受け取うけとった。↗

  He received a large sum of money in compensation for his injury.

Use 損害賠償 for 'damages' as the legal compensation sought or paid for loss or injury, and 賠償 for compensation or reparations in the broader sense of making good a loss; the two overlap heavily in legal contexts.

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

• 損害賠償そんがいばいしょうrestitution
• 賠償ばいしょうcompensation
• 慰謝料いしゃりょうconsolation money