How to say "firearm" in Japanese

• 銃じゅうJLPT N3approx.Common
  nounThe broad word for a gun or firearm: it covers small arms such as rifles and pistols, and is the word used in news reports of shootings and in debates over gun control.
  警察けいさつは簡単かんたんに銃じゅうを使つかってはいけない。↗

  Police can't be trigger happy.
• 鉄砲てっぽうJLPT N2approx.Common
  nounThis word too means a gun or firearm, but it often calls to mind older guns such as matchlocks; it appears in historical accounts of warfare and is heard among hunters.
  合衆国がっしゅうこくでは２億１６００万におくいちろくれいれいまん丁ちょうもの鉄砲てっぽう類るいが、民間みんかんの手てにあるという。↗

  In the U.S., as many as 216 million firearms are said to be in private hands.

Both words mean a gun or firearm: 銃 covers the general sense and, in particular, small arms such as rifles and pistols, while 鉄砲 is also correct but often evokes older guns such as matchlocks.

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

• 銃じゅうgun
• 鉄砲てっぽうgun
• 銃火器じゅうかきfirearm
• 小火器しょうかきsmall arms