How to say "prism" in Japanese
Choosing the right word
- no-adjectiveThe loanword and the everyday word for a prism: the glass object that refracts or splits light, and loosely the three-dimensional shape. This is what you will normally want in most contexts.
- 角柱かくちゅうnounThe word for the geometric sense: a prism as defined in mathematics, a solid with two parallel polygonal faces. In geometry contexts this is the word; for the glass optical object, プリズム.
- 三稜鏡さんりょうきょうnounA less common word for the triangular glass prism used in optics to split light into a spectrum. In everyday talk about prisms, the loanword プリズム is the usual choice.
- ＰＲＩＳＭプリズムnounThe proper name of the mass electronic surveillance program operated by the United States National Security Agency. Use it only when writing about that program, never for the optical or geometric prism.
- 角壔かくとうnounA rare kanji word for the geometric prism. You will seldom meet it outside dictionaries, and it is almost never the word you want; 角柱 or the loanword is the usual choice.
Use 「プリズム」 for the glass prism that splits light (the everyday choice), 角柱 for the geometric solid, 三稜鏡 for the optical triangular prism, ＰＲＩＳＭ only for the NSA surveillance program, and treat the rare 角壔 as marginal.
Usage comparisons are AI-assisted and cross-checked by multiple models; for study reference only
Japanese equivalents
See also
This browser can't play pronunciations (needs Safari 18.4 or later, or Chrome / Edge / Firefox).
