How to say "mayhem" in Japanese

• 暴力ぼうりょくJLPT N1approx.Common
  nounCovers mayhem as physical violence. It is really the word for violence itself, so it fits when people are hurt by force — a brawl, an assault — not when a situation is merely chaotic.
  非暴力ひぼうりょくというのは私の信仰しんこうの第だい１条じょうだ。↗

  Non-violence is the first article of my faith.
• 騒乱そうらんCommon
  no-adjectiveCovers mayhem as public disorder: a disturbance or riot in which a crowd gets out of hand. Think of a demonstration or a stadium crowd boiling over into mayhem.
• 混乱こんらんJLPT N3approx.Common
  noun, suru verb, intransitive verbCovers mayhem as chaos and confusion — a situation in disarray where nothing goes as planned. For most everyday uses of 'mayhem', like a commute thrown into mayhem by a storm, this is the word.
  国会こっかいは混乱こんらんのうちに散会さんかいした。↗

  The Diet broke up in confusion.

Choose 暴力 when it means physical violence, 騒乱 when it means public disturbance or rioting, and 混乱 when it means chaos and confusion — its usual sense in everyday English.

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

• 暴力ぼうりょくviolence
• 騒乱そうらんdisturbance
• 混乱こんらんdisorder
• 身体傷害からだしょうがいbodily injury