How to say "myth" in Japanese

• 神話しんわJLPT N2approx.Common
  nounCovers 'myth' in its core sense: a traditional story of gods and heroes handed down within a culture, as with the myths of ancient Greece; it also means 'mythology' as a whole.
  どの民族みんぞくも独自どくじの神話しんわを持もっている。↗

  Every nation has its own myths.
• 作り話つくりばなしCommon
  nounFits 'myth' only in the sense of a made-up or false story, a fabrication someone has invented; it presents the tale as fiction, so it is not the word for ancient traditional myths.
  これは事実じじつであって作り話つくりばなしではありません。↗

  This is fact, not fiction.

Use 神話 for 'myth' as a traditional story of gods or ancient peoples — the mythology sense — and 「作り話」 when 'myth' means a made-up, false story, a fabrication rather than ancient legend.

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

• 神話しんわmyth
• 作り話つくりばなしfiction
• ミスmyth