How to say "script" in Japanese

• 本ほんJLPT N5approx.Common
  nounReally the everyday word for 'book' or 'volume'; its 'script' sense is narrow and specialized, so this is seldom the word you want for a play or film script.
  昨日きのうはその本ほんを８０ページまで読よんだ。↗

  I read the book up to page 80 yesterday.
• シナリオJLPT N1approx.Common
  nounA loanword covering the screenplay sense: the written script of a film or television drama. Chiefly associated with movies and TV rather than with stage plays.
  映画えいがのシナリオみたいですね。↗

  That's something like a movie scenario.
• 台本だいほんJLPT N1approx.Common
  nounThe script as a performance text: the complete written text of a play or broadcast, with all the lines, that performers work from; also the word for a libretto.
  台本だいほんに目めを通とおしておいてください。↗

  Please go over the script.
• 脚本きゃくほんJLPT N1approx.Common
  nounThe general word for a script or screenplay as a written work, covering stage plays and film and television alike; the neutral choice when talking about scriptwriting.
  脚本きゃくほんを書かいていて、行き詰いきづまった時ときはどうする？↗

  What do you do when you get writer's block while writing a script?

For a script as a written work use 脚本; for the performance text itself use 台本; 「シナリオ」 is the loanword for film and television screenplays; 本 normally means 'book' and is seldom the right choice for 'script'.

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

• 本ほんbook
• シナリオscript
• 台本だいほんscript
• 脚本きゃくほんscript
• スクリプトscript (for a TV show, film, etc.)
• スクリプト体スクリプトたいscript (typeface)
• 書契しょけいscript