How to say "percentage" in Japanese
Choosing the right word
- nounThe loanword for 'percent'; use it when 'percentage' means the figure itself, expressed as so many percent, as in quoting statistics or survey results.
- 割合わりあいnounThe general word for a proportion — how much of a whole something makes up. Choose it when 'percentage' means a share or fraction rather than a specific number.
- 比率ひりつnounCenters on the ratio between two quantities compared with each other. It can translate 'percentage', but for a simple part-of-a-whole share 割合 is the more natural choice.
- 歩合ぶあいnounA percentage serving as a rate, notably for commissions or pay scaled to results; for 'percentage' in general senses it is seldom the word you want.
- 率りつnoun, noun (suffix)A rate in the statistical sense: a figure expressing how much occurs or changes relative to a base, as in growth or unemployment figures; usually it appears as the second element of a compound.
Use 「パーセント」 for an actual figure in percent, 割合 for a share of a whole, 比率 for the relationship between two quantities, 率 for named statistical rates, and 歩合 chiefly for commission-based percentage rates.
Usage comparisons are AI-assisted and cross-checked by multiple models; for study reference only
Japanese equivalents
See also
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