How to say "earthquake" in Japanese

• 地震じしんJLPT N4approx.Common
  nounThe everyday word for an earthquake: the shaking of the ground as a natural event or disaster. Use it in nearly all contexts, from news reports to casual conversation.
  地震じしんがその地域ちいきを襲おそった。↗

  The earthquake shook the area.
• ない
  nounA poetical word for an earthquake, normally written in kana alone. It belongs to literary diction, and in ordinary speech or writing 地震 is almost always the word you want instead.
• 地動ちどう
  nounRefers to movement within the earth itself rather than the shaking event people experience; it is a less common, technical-sounding word and seldom the right choice when you simply mean 'earthquake'.
• クエイク
  nounA katakana abbreviation of the English loanword for 'quake'. It has a casual, foreign flavor and is much less common than 地震; treat it as a stylistic option, not the default word.

Choose 地震 for earthquakes in ordinary contexts; 「ない」 is a poetical alternative, 地動 names movement within the earth itself rather than the shaking event, and 「クエイク」 is a casual loanword abbreviation.

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

• 地震じしんearthquake
• 地震ないearthquake
• 地動ちどう(internal) movement of the earth
• クエイクearthquake