How to say "narrative" in Japanese

• 物語ものがたりJLPT N3approx.Common
  nounCovers 'narrative' in its basic sense of a story or tale: a connected account of events, real or invented. Use it for the story itself, as in a novel or a folktale.
  これは、ある猫ねこについての物語ものがたりです。↗

  This is a story about a cat.
• 説話せつわCommon
  noun, suru verbTreats 'narrative' as a category — tales as a type of literature — rather than one particular story. For 'a narrative' meaning a story, this is seldom the word you want; use 物語.

For 'narrative' meaning a story or account of events, use 物語; 説話 treats narrative as a category — tales as a type of literature — and is seldom the word for a single story.

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

• 物語ものがたりstory
• 説話せつわtale
• ナラティブnarrative
• 体験談たいけんだんstory of one's experience
• 叙事的じょじてきepic (e.g. poem)
• ストーリー性ストーリーせい(sense of) story
• 賦ふnarrative (style of the Shi Jing)
• 地じnarrative (i.e. descriptive part of a story)