How to say "palace" in Japanese

• 宮殿きゅうでんJLPT N1approx.Common
  nounCovers 'palace' in its core sense: a grand residence of a monarch or imperial family. When you simply mean a palace — royal, imperial, or foreign — this is the word to reach for.
  宮殿きゅうでんは物々ものものしい警戒けいかいぶりだった。↗

  The palace was heavily guarded.
• パレスCommon
  nounThe loanword, with a Western flavor; it appears chiefly in the names of hotels, halls, and other venues. For an actual royal residence it is seldom the word you want.
• 御殿ごてんCommon
  nounAn honorific word for the residence of a shogun or great lord, by extension its household or court; the flavor is old Japan — castle interiors, lordly residences — not a European royal palace.
• 殿堂でんどうCommon
  nounGlossed 'palace', but in practice this means a stately hall, such as those of a temple, or figuratively the elite ranks of a field; as 'palace' it is marginal.
• 楼閣ろうかくCommon
  nounReally a lofty multistoried building — the towers of poetry and painting — so as 'palace' or 'castle' it is only marginal; picture a many-tiered tower, not a royal residence.
  君きみの計画けいかくは砂上さじょうの楼閣ろうかくに過すぎないよ。↗

  Your scheme is like a house built on the sand.

Choose 宮殿 for a royal or imperial palace; 「パレス」 appears mostly in the names of hotels and venues; 御殿 suits a shogun's or lord's residence; 殿堂 and 楼閣 really denote grand halls and multistoried towers, only marginal as 'palace'.

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

• 宮殿きゅうでんpalace
• パレスpalace
• 御殿ごてんpalace
• 殿堂でんどうpalace
• 楼閣ろうかくmultistoried building
• 宮きゅうpalace
• 殿閣でんかくpalace
• 殿舎でんしゃpalace
• 宮室きゅうしつpalace
• 館やかたmansion
• 玉垂れたまだれbamboo curtain
• 九天きゅうてんsky
• 宮みやpalace