How to say "instinct" in Japanese

• 本能ほんのうJLPT N1approx.Common
  no-adjectiveInstinct as an inborn, natural drive: the unlearned impulses humans and animals are born with, as in animal behavior. It is not the word for a hunch or gut feeling about something.
  動物どうぶつは本能ほんのうのままに振る舞ふるまう。↗

  Animals act on instinct.
• 直感ちょっかんJLPT N1approx.Common
  noun, suru verb, transitive verbInstinct as a hunch or gut feeling: an immediate, intuitive sense about something, formed without conscious reasoning. It is essentially the word for intuition; inborn, natural instinct is 本能.
  警官けいかんは彼かれが犯人はんにんだと直感ちょっかんした。↗

  The police spotted him at once as the offender.

Choose 本能 for instinct as an inborn natural drive, as seen in animal behavior; choose 直感 for instinct meaning a hunch or gut feeling — an immediate intuitive judgment rather than something inborn.

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

• 本能ほんのうinstinct
• 直感ちょっかんintuition
• インスティンクトinstinct
• 人性じんせいhuman nature
• 欲動よくどうdrive