How to say "emperor" in Japanese

• 皇帝こうていCommon
  nounThe default word for 'emperor': it denotes the ruler of an empire and applies to emperors of any country, not only Japan. This is the safe choice in most contexts.
  皇帝こうていネロは極きわめて邪悪じゃあくな暴君ぼうくんだった。↗

  Emperor Nero was an extremely evil tyrant.
• 帝みかどCommon
  nounRefers specifically to the emperor of Japan — the word behind the English rendering 'mikado'. Because it is limited to the Japanese emperor, it is not the word for emperors in general.
• 帝王ていおうCommon
  nounA broader term for a ruler: its senses include sovereign and monarch, with 'emperor' only one of them. It suits talk of monarchs and sovereigns at large rather than the specific title 'emperor'.
  株かぶでやられるまで彼かれは証券市場しょうけんしじょうの帝王ていおうでしたよ。↗

  He was a stock-market tycoon until the bears got him.
• エンペラーCommon
  nounThe katakana rendering of the English word 'emperor'. Use it when the English term itself is meant; for the general sense of 'emperor', 皇帝 is the safer choice.
• カイザーCommon
  nounA historical term for the kaiser, the German emperor. Because of that historical scope, it is not the word for emperors in general; use 皇帝 there.

Choose 皇帝 as the default for 'emperor'; use 帝 only for the emperor of Japan, 帝王 for sovereigns and monarchs in general, 「エンペラー」 as the English loanword, and 「カイザー」 for the historical German kaiser.

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

• 皇帝こうていemperor
• 帝みかどemperor (of Japan)
• 帝王ていおうsovereign
• エンペラーemperor
• カイザーkaiser
• 天子てんしemperor
• 人皇にんのうemperor
• 主上しゅじょうemperor
• 天津御姉あまつみこemperor
• 上様うえさまemperor
• 現人神あらひとがみemperor
• 日の御子ひのみこEmperor (of Japan)
• 太祖たいそfounder
• 御所ごしょemperor
• 皇御孫すめみまdescendant of Amaterasu