How to say "debt" in Japanese

• 借金しゃっきんJLPT N3approx.Common
  noun, suru verb, transitive verbDebt in the ordinary sense: money you have borrowed from a bank, a lender, or a person and must pay back. This is the word for personal debt and for being in debt.
  君きみは借金しゃっきんを払はらうべきだ。↗

  You should pay your debts.
• 債務さいむCommon
  nounDebt as an obligation owed to a person or party, usually legal or contractual in nature; the fitting word in contracts, legal documents, and business dealings.
  アメリカの対外たいがい債務さいむは５０００億ごれいれいれいおくドルを突破とっぱしましたよ。↗

  America's foreign debt shot past $500 billion.
• 負債ふさいJLPT N1approx.Common
  nounDebt as liabilities, chiefly in accounting and financial statements: the sums a company or organization owes. It treats debt as a figure to be tallied rather than a personal matter.
  その金かねは負債ふさいの支払しはらいに充当じゅうとうすることになっている。↗

  The money is to be applied to the debt.
• 債さいCommon
  noun, noun (suffix)Debt or a loan in the abstract, but seldom the standalone word you want: it appears mainly as a component inside other legal and financial terms rather than as an independent word for debt.
• 借りかりJLPT N1approx.Common
  nounThe borrowing itself or what you owe, framed as owed to a particular person. Used in talk about owing someone and having to repay them; it can also cover a favor owed.
  なした約束やくそくは払はらってない借かりである。↗

  A promise made is a debt unpaid.

Use 借金 for debt in the everyday sense of money borrowed and owed, 債務 for debt as a legal or contractual obligation, 負債 for liabilities in accounting, and 「借り」 for what one owes from borrowing; 債 seldom stands alone.

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

• 借金しゃっきんdebt
• 債務さいむdebt
• 負債ふさいdebt
• 債さいdebt
• 借りかりborrowing
• 借入金かりいれきんloan
• 借銭しゃくせんdebt
• 借財しゃくざいloan
• 貸しかしfavor