How to say "dust" in Japanese

• 塵ちりCommon
  nounThe general word for dust: fine particles of dirt, whether floating in the air or wiped from a surface. A safe choice for 'dust' in most everyday contexts.
  １年ねんが過すぎ、彼かれの死体したいは塵ちりと化かした。↗

  A year had passed by and his body turned to dust.
• ほこりJLPT N3approx.Common
  nounDust that settles and builds up on furniture, floors, and shelves — the everyday household sense. Usually written in kana alone rather than in kanji.
  彼女かのじょはほこりを払はらった。↗

  She brushed away the dust.
• 粉こなJLPT N3approx.Common
  nounChiefly flour, meal, or powder; its dust sense is fine powdery particles. Not the word for the dust that gathers on shelves or floors — for that, use 塵 or ほこり.
  この小麦こむぎは粉こなにされる。↗

  This wheat is made into flour.
• 汚物おぶつCommon
  nounNot 'dust' in any ordinary sense: it means filth, muck, or waste — especially excrement — and garbage. Seldom, if ever, the word you want for 'dust'.
  水みずの淀よどむ所ところには汚物おぶつが溜たまる。↗

  Standing pools gather filth.

For ordinary dust choose between 塵 and 「ほこり」 — 「ほこり」 for the dust that settles in the home; 粉 is really flour or powder, and 汚物 means filth or waste, not dust.

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

• 塵ちりdust
• ほこりdust
• 粉こなflour
• 汚物おぶつfilth (esp. excrement, feces, urine)
• はたくto dust
• ダストdust
• 粉塵ふんじんdust
• 土埃つちぼこりdust
• 塵埃じんあいdust
• 黄塵こうじんdust (in air)
• はたきをかけるto dust (shelves, etc.)