# kaiju

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈkai.d͡ʒu/ · frequency rank #46,009

## Definitions
1. A fictional giant monster, particularly of the kind found in Japanese science fiction films and other media, like Godzilla, King Kong or Gamera.

## Etymology
From Japanese 怪獣 (かいじゅう, kaijū), from Middle Chinese 怪 (kweajᴴ, “strange, fantastic”) + 獸 (syuwᴴ, “beast”) (compare Mandarin 怪獸 /怪兽 (guàishòu)).

## Easily confused with
- **kain** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/kaiju-vs-kain)
- **kanji** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/kaiju-vs-kanji)
- **Kaine** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/kaiju-vs-kaine)
- **Kaoru** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/kaiju-vs-kaoru)
- **kai** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/kai-vs-kaiju)

## Common misspellings (6)
`akiju`, `kaijju`, `kaiuj`, `kajiu`, `kiaju`, `kkaiju`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/kaiju