How to say "golden" in Japanese

• ゴールデンCommon
  no-adjectiveThe katakana loanword, matching English 'golden' directly. It appears chiefly inside borrowed phrases and names; to describe a golden colour or something superb in your own Japanese sentences, 黄金 is the natural choice.
• 千載一遇せんざいいちぐうCommon
  no-adjectiveA four-character idiom meaning a once-in-a-lifetime chance. It supplies 'golden' only in the set phrase 'golden opportunity'; it never describes colour or appearance, so it is no substitute for ゴールデン or 黄金 elsewhere.
  いよいよ千載一遇せんざいいちぐうのチャンスがめぐってきた。↗

  At last, a chance in a million arrived.
• 黄金おうごんJLPT N1approx.Common
  no-adjectiveThe native word for the golden colour, and by extension for anything prosperous, excellent or superb. Choose it when you describe something as golden in your own sentences, rather than reaching for the loanword.

Use 「ゴールデン」 for the loanword in set phrases and names, 黄金 for the colour and figurative senses of golden, and 千載一遇 only for a golden, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

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

• ゴールデンgolden
• 千載一遇せんざいいちぐうonce-in-a-lifetime (opportunity)
• 黄金色こがねいろgolden
• 黄金おうごんgolden