How to say "pagan" in Japanese

• 異教徒いきょうとCommon
  nounCovers the usual sense of 'pagan': someone who follows a different religion, from an insider's viewpoint. The neutral, go-to word for calling a person pagan.
• 異端者いたんしゃ
  nounMost naturally means a heretic — someone deviating from an established doctrine within a faith — and only secondarily 'pagan'. For the pagan sense this is seldom the word you want.

For the non-believer sense of 'pagan' use 異教徒; 異端者 is mainly for a heretic within a faith, and is a less common, secondary choice when glossed 'pagan'.

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

• 異教徒いきょうとpagan
• 異端者いたんしゃheathen