皇后|こうごうkougou[3]nakadaka (mid-high)

1. nounempress (consort)

• Synonym后きさきWrittenThe same entry as the 「后（きさき）」 above; the meaning is identical.
• Synonym皇妃こうひWrittenWritten/formal and rare; a wife of an emperor. The official title today is 「皇后」; 「皇妃」 appears mostly in coverage of foreign royalty or historical accounts.
• Related王妃おうひNeutralNeutral: the wife of a king, or of a 「王」 in the Japanese imperial family. 「皇后」 is used only for the legitimate wife of an emperor or the emperor of Japan.
• RelatedクイーンNeutralNeutral loanword for a reigning queen herself, or the queen in cards or chess; also used figuratively. Not used for the emperor of Japan's wife.
• Related王后おうこうWrittenWritten and rare; the wife of a king. The Japanese emperor's wife is 「皇后」, and a foreign king's wife is usually called 「王妃」.
• Antonym皇帝こうていFormalFormal: the male monarch, the counterpart of 「皇后」; used mostly for foreign or Chinese rulers.
• Antonym天皇てんのうFormalFormal title of Japan's monarch, whose legitimate wife is the 「皇后」; the two are used as a pair when discussing the imperial family.

Use 「皇后」 for the legitimate wife of an emperor or the emperor of Japan. A king's wife is 「王妃」, a reigning queen 「クイーン」. 「后」, 「皇妃」 and 「王后」 are literary, old-fashioned alternatives.

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

1. 皇帝こうていの嫡妻ちゃくさい。またその地位ちい。
2. おおきさき。天皇てんのうの嫡妻ちゃくさい。またその地位ちい。
3. 特とくに、天皇てんのうの嫡妻ちゃくさいのうち、皇后こうごう職しょくが付つけられた人ひと。
4. 日本にっぽんで、天皇てんのうの嫡妻ちゃくさいに準じゅんじて、天皇てんのうの生母せいぼ・准母じゅんぼ、内親王ないしんのう、上皇じょうこうの妻つまに与あたえられた地位ちい。またその地位ちいにある人ひと。
5. 太ふとし皇太后こうたいごう・皇太后こうたいごう・皇后こうごうの位くらいにある人ひとたち。