キリスト
きりすと
noun
Christ
1.
Christ
Jesus Christ, the central figure of Christianity. Also used in various compound terms relating to Christianity.
キリスト教を信じている。
I believe in Christianity.
クリスマスはキリストの誕生を祝う日だ。
Christmas is a day to celebrate the birth of Christ.
日本のキリスト教徒の割合は全人口の約1パーセントと言われている。
It is said that the proportion of Christians in Japan is about 1 percent of the total population.
From Portuguese "Cristo" (Christ), introduced by Portuguese missionaries in the 16th century. One of the oldest loanwords in Japanese. Even though Japan has a small Christian population, キリスト appears frequently in daily life through terms like キリスト教 (Christianity), which is taught in schools and appears in news.
COMMON COLLOCATIONS:
- キリスト教: Christianity
- キリスト教徒: Christian (person)
- キリスト教会: Christian church
- イエス・キリスト: Jesus Christ
- キリスト教系: Christian-affiliated
SIMILAR WORDS:
- イエス: Jesus — the personal name, sometimes used alone
- 救世主: savior, messiah — the meaning of "Christ" as a title
ETYMOLOGY:
Derived from Portuguese "Cristo," not directly from English. This is why the katakana spelling follows Portuguese pronunciation patterns rather than English ones.