How to say "icon" in Japanese

• アイコンCommon
  nounThe general word for an icon, used especially for the small pictorial symbols displayed on computer and smartphone screens; for the digital sense this is the word you want.
• イコンCommon
  nounA religious icon: a sacred image of Christ, the Virgin Mary, or a saint, venerated in Christian worship. It is not the word for the small symbols on computer screens.
• 本尊ほんぞんCommon
  nounThe principal object of worship at a Buddhist temple, typically a statue or painting; more broadly, an object of adoration. It matches 'icon' only in this sense of a revered object of worship.

Use 「アイコン」 for icons in general, including the small symbols on computer screens; 「イコン」 for religious icons; and 本尊 when 'icon' means the principal object of worship or an object of adoration.

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

• アイコンicon
• イコンicon (religious)
• 図像ずぞうicon
• 聖画像せいがぞうicon
• 聖像せいぞうsacred image
• 本尊ほんぞんidol
• レジェンド(living) legend
• アイドル(cultural) icon
• カリスマsomeone famous (usu. for their talent)