How to say "nut" in Japanese

• 実みJLPT N3approx.Common
  nounCovers 'nut' in the food sense — the edible kernel — alongside its basic sense 'fruit'; the everyday word when talking about eating nuts, with fruit versus nut settled by context.
  男の子おとこのこたちが、私の柿の木かきのきになっている熟じゅくした実みを全部ぜんぶ持ち去もちさってしまった。↗

  Some boys made away with all the ripe fruits on my persimmon tree.
• ナットCommon
  nounThe loanword for the hardware sense only: the metal fastener screwed onto a bolt and tightened with a wrench. It never refers to the food or to an eccentric person.
  そのボルトに嵌合かんごうするナットが必要ひつようです。↗

  We need a nut that will fit that bolt.
• 果実かじつJLPT N2approx.Common
  nounChiefly the word for fruit, especially in botanical use; 'nut' is a secondary sense, and for nuts as food 実 or 木の実 is the usual choice.
  果実かじつになる花はなは少すくない。↗

  Few flowers develop into fruit.
• 木の実きのみCommon
  nounNuts and berries as they grow on trees — the natural word for gathering nuts in the woods, or for the nuts and berries that birds and animals feed on.
  ボブはいろいろな種類しゅるいの木の実このみを見みつけた。↗

  Bob found various kinds of nuts.
• 基地きちJLPT N2approx.Common
  noun (suffix)Jocular internet slang for a person — an obsessive enthusiast, maniac or 'nut'; never the food or the hardware. In its ordinary use the word means 'base', as in a military base.

For edible nuts use 実 or 「木の実」 (nuts growing on trees); for the hardware sense use 「ナット」; 果実 is chiefly the botanical 'fruit'; 基地 is jocular internet slang for a person who is a 'nut'.

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

• 実みfruit
• ナットnut (as in nut and bolt)
• 果実かじつfruit
• 木の実きのみfruit of a tree
• 堅果けんかnut
• 上駒かみごまnut (on the head of a shamisen, supporting the second and third strings)
• めねじfemale screw
• 小塊しょうかいsmall lump
• キチenthusiast
• 基地きちenthusiast
• きちがいmania
• 狂いくるいfanaticism
• ばかfervent enthusiast