How to say "monkey" in Japanese

• さるJLPT N3approx.Common
  nounThe everyday word for monkey, especially the Japanese macaque; it also covers apes and non-human primates generally. Since it is usually written in kana, it is the default choice in ordinary speech and writing.
  何なん匹ひきかのサルが木きに登のぼっているのを見みた。↗

  I saw some monkeys climbing the tree.
• モンキーCommon
  nounA straightforward katakana equivalent of the English 'monkey', referring to the animal itself. It appears in contexts with a foreign or technical flavor, such as borrowed phrases and proper names, and is otherwise interchangeable with さる for the animal.
  例たとえばベルベットモンキーは、輪わを描えがいて飛とぶワシがいるとある種たねの呼よびかけを用もちいるようになる。ワシはサルを捕食ほしょくするのだ。↗

  For example, vervet monkeys learn to use a certain call in the presence of circling eagles, who prey on the monkeys.

Use 「さる」 for monkeys, including the Japanese macaque, and broader non-human primates; 「モンキー」 is the katakana loanword for the animal itself, often in borrowed contexts such as nicknames.

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

• さるmonkey (esp. the Japanese macaque, Macaca fuscata)
• モンキーmonkey
• 猿ましらmonkey
• 猿猴えんこうmonkey (esp. a gibbon)
• エテ公えてこうmonkey
• お猿さんおさるさんmonkey
• 西遊記さいゆうきMonkey (1978-1980 TV series)