How to say "fungus" in Japanese

• 菌きんCommon
  nounCovers 'fungus' in a broad, everyday sense, and is also the general word for germs and microbes. Typical contexts include health talk, mold, and casual references to microorganisms rather than scientific classification.
• 真菌しんきんCommon
  nounThe word for fungus in the scientific sense, as opposed to bacteria or other microbes. Used in medicine and biology, for example in discussions of fungal infections, where precision matters.
• 菌類きんるいCommon
  nounRefers to fungi as a whole group or category of organisms, comparable to English 'fungi'. Typical in encyclopedic, educational, or classificatory writing about mushrooms, molds, and related organisms collectively.

Use 菌 loosely for germs and fungi alike; use 真菌 for fungi as a biological group; use 菌類 when referring to fungi collectively as a category of organisms.

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

• 菌きんfungus
• 真菌しんきんfungus
• 菌類きんるいfungus