How to say "province" in Japanese

• 州しゅうJLPT N3approx.Common
  noun, noun (suffix)Covers 'province' as a major administrative division of a country — the word for Canada's provinces, and also for the states of the US or Germany and the counties of the UK.
  南部なんぶの州しゅうへ冬期とうきに旅行りょこうすると、今こん旅行りょこうするよりも料金りょうきんが高たかくなります。↗

  Traveling to the southern states during the winter will be costlier than it is now.
• 県けんJLPT N3approx.Common
  noun, noun (suffix)For 'province' as an administrative division of a country such as Italy or Spain, this is the word; it is likewise the word for Japan's prefectures, China's counties and France's departments.
  チューリップは、私わたしたちの県けんの県花けんかです。↗

  Tulips are our prefecture's official flower.
• 藩はんCommon
  noun, noun (suffix)Seldom the word you want for a present-day province: it is really the historical term for the estate of a daimyo, a feudal domain or fief of the Edo and early Meiji periods.
• 郷土きょうどCommon
  nounCovers 'province' in the broad sense of a region or locality, often with the nuance of one's home or native area; for an official administrative province, 州 or 県 is the word.

Choose 州 for a province like Canada's, 県 for one of Italy or Spain, 藩 only for a daimyo's feudal domain of the Edo period, and 郷土 for a region or locality, often one's home area.

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

• 州しゅうstate (of the US, Australia, India, Germany, etc.)
• 県けんprefecture (of Japan)
• 藩はんhan (estate of a daimyo in the Edo and early Meiji periods)
• プロビンスprovince
• 郷土きょうどprovince
• 省しょうprovince (of China)
• 国くにprovince (of Japan)
• 道どうprovince (administrative region of Korea)