How to say "gender" in Japanese

• ジェンダーCommon
  nounCovers 'gender' as a social or cultural category, as in gender studies or gender equality. This is the word to use when the English term carries that academic or sociological nuance.
• 性別せいべつJLPT N2approx.Common
  nounThe usual everyday word for a person's sex or gender, as on application forms or in describing whether someone is male or female. For most ordinary uses of 'gender', this is the natural choice.
  国籍こくせきや性別せいべつまたは職業しょくぎょうなどで人ひとを差別さべつしてはいけない。↗

  Don't discriminate against people based on nationality, gender, or occupation.
• 性せいJLPT N3approx.Common
  nounGlossed as 'sex; gender', but in practice it centers on sex in a biological or grammatical sense. As a standalone word for someone's gender it is seldom what you want; 性別 is far more natural.
• セックスJLPT N1approx.Common
  nounGlossed as '(one's) sex; gender', but it commonly suggests sex as physical activity or biological sex. It is rarely the word for 'gender' in the social sense; use ジェンダー or 性別 instead.

Use 「ジェンダー」 for gender as a social or cultural concept, 性別 for a person's sex/gender on forms and in everyday talk, and treat 性 and 「セックス」 as sex-centered words that only loosely cover this sense.

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

• ジェンダーgender
• 性別せいべつ(distinction of) sex
• 性せいsex
• セックス(one's) sex