How to say "lecture" in Japanese

• 講演こうえんJLPT N3approx.Common
  noun, suru verb, transitive verb, intransitive verbA lecture or address delivered to an audience, as at a conference, ceremony, or public meeting. This is the word for the formal public-talk sense of 'lecture', not for classroom teaching.
  今夜こんやの講演こうえんは誰だれですか。↗

  Who is going to speak tonight?
• 講義こうぎJLPT N4approx.Common
  noun, suru verb, transitive verbA lecture in the academic sense, given as part of a university course and attended by students; what a professor delivers when lecturing on their subject.
  その講義こうぎへ来きた人ひとはほとんどいなかった。↗

  Few people came to the lecture.
• 講ずるこうずるCommon
  ichidan verb (-zuru), transitive verbA verb meaning 'to lecture (on)' or to expound a text aloud to listeners. For simply giving a lecture it is seldom the word you want; use 講演 or 講義 instead.
• レクチャーCommon
  noun, suru verb, transitive verbThe borrowed word for a talk in which someone explains or teaches something, often as practical guidance. It is not a catch-all: a university course lecture is 講義, a formal public address 講演.
• 説法せっぽうCommon
  noun, suru verb, transitive verb, intransitive verbA sermon: a Buddhist priest expounding religious teachings to an audience. Its 'lecture' sense is the religious one; it is not the word for an academic or public lecture.

Use 講義 for a university course lecture, 講演 for a formal public address, 説法 for a religious sermon, 「レクチャー」 for the general sense of an explanatory talk, and 「講ずる」 as the verb 'to lecture (on)'.

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

• 講演こうえんlecture
• 講義こうぎlecture
• 講ずるこうずるto lecture
• レクチャーlecture
• 説法せっぽうlecture
• 講話こうわlecture
• 講じるこうじるto lecture
• 講演会こうえんかいlecture (esp. special engagement by noted speaker)
• 講釈こうしゃくexplanation (of a text, phrase, etc.)
• 小言こごとscolding
• 教訓を垂れるきょうくんをたれるto lecture
• 演述えんじゅつlecture
• 特講とっこうlecture (on a special topic)
• 叱りしかりscolding
• 講筵こうえんlecture room
• お小言おこごとscolding
• 談義だんぎ(formal and tedious) talk