How to say "fisherman" in Japanese

• 漁師りょうしJLPT N2approx.Common
  nounThe everyday word for someone who catches fish for a living; this is what you normally use for 'fisherman', whether talking about a coastal village or a family member's job.
  漁師りょうしは釣り上つりあげた魚さかなの大おおきさをおおげさにいった。↗

  The fisherman exaggerated the size of the fish he had caught.
• 海人うみんちゅ
  nounWith the reading うみんちゅ this is the Okinawan word for fisherman; it carries strong local color, so it fits contexts evoking Okinawa rather than serving as the general-purpose term.
• 漁夫ぎょふ
  nounA dated word for a fisherman, met mainly in older writing; in ordinary conversation 漁師 is the natural choice, so this is seldom the word you want.
  漁夫ぎょふの利りを占しめる。↗

  A third party makes off with the profits.
• フィッシャーマン
  nounA katakana borrowing of the English word itself; it keeps a foreign flavor and is much less common than 漁師, so it is rarely the word you need.
• 漁業者ぎょぎょうしゃ
  nounAn occupational term meaning a person engaged in the fishing industry; it suits official, legal and statistical contexts more than everyday talk about a fisherman.

For the ordinary sense of 'fisherman' choose 漁師; 漁業者 suits occupational and official contexts, 漁夫 is a dated word, 海人 is the Okinawan term, and 「フィッシャーマン」 is the English loanword.

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

• 漁師りょうしfisherman
• 海人うみんちゅfisherman
• 漁夫ぎょふfisherman
• フィッシャーマンfisherman
• 漁業者ぎょぎょうしゃfisherman
• 漁船員ぎょせんいんfisherman
• 漁船乗組員ぎょせんのりくみいんfisherman
• フィッシャーfisher
• 漁りすなどりfisherman
• 海人あまfisherman
• 吊り手つりてfisherman