How to say "doctor" in Japanese
Choosing the right word
- 医者いしゃnounThe everyday word for a medical doctor — the physician you visit when you are ill. For ordinary conversation about seeing a doctor, this is the natural choice.
- 医師いしnounAlso means a medical doctor, but this is the term of professional and official contexts — documents, hospitals, news reports — where 医者 would sound too conversational.
- 博士はくしnoun, noun (suffix)The doctorate: a person holding a PhD, the degree itself, or the title 'Dr.' for a scholar. It does not refer to a medical doctor.
- nounThe katakana loanword. It can refer to a physician or a PhD holder, often where a Western flavor fits, but in ordinary sentences 医者 or 医師 is usually the better choice.
- 博はくnoun (suffix)A casual short form of 博士. On its own it is seldom the word you want for 'doctor'; for the degree or its holder, use 博士.
For a medical doctor use 医者 in everyday speech or 医師 in professional and official contexts; for a PhD or academic 'Dr.' use 博士; 「ドクター」 is the loanword for either sense, and 博 is a casual short form of 博士.
Usage comparisons are AI-assisted and cross-checked by multiple models; for study reference only
Japanese equivalents
See also
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