How to say "fortune-telling" in Japanese

• 占いうらないCommon
  nounThe common, everyday word for fortune-telling, also covering divination in general. When you simply mean having your fortune told, this is the default choice.
  トランプ占うらないをしてあげましょう。↗

  Let me tell you your fortune with cards.
• 卜占ぼくせん
  nounA much less common word for fortune-telling and divination; it also covers 'augury', divination from signs and omens. For plain 'fortune-telling', 占い is usually the word you want.
• 運勢判断うんせいはんだん
  nounA much less common word that presents fortune-telling as the judging of a person's luck or fortune. It reads as a descriptive term for the activity rather than the everyday word, which is 占い.
• 卜術ぼくじゅつ
  nounA much less common word that treats fortune-telling and divination as an art or technique. For ordinary talk about having one's fortune told, 占い is the word you want instead.
• 占術せんじゅつ
  nounA much less common word for divination and fortune-telling, pointing to the method or art involved rather than the act itself. It is marginal as a rendering of plain 'fortune-telling'; use 占い for that.

Use 「占い」 for fortune-telling in general; the other four are much less common, with 卜占 also covering augury, 運勢判断 framing it as the judging of one's luck, and 卜術 and 占術 treating it as an art or technique.

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

• 占いうらないfortune-telling
• 卜占ぼくせんfortune-telling
• 運勢判断うんせいはんだんfortune-telling
• 卜術ぼくじゅつfortune-telling
• 占術せんじゅつdivination
• 八卦はっけdivination