Translation guide
A Christian place of worship, typically smaller than a church, or a room within a larger building for private prayer or small services.
A standalone building used for Christian worship, often smaller than a main church.
General term for a chapel, emphasizing its function as a worship hall. Suitable for most contexts.
There is a small chapel on the hill.
Loanword from English, commonly used for wedding chapels or chapels in hotels and schools. Sounds modern and familiar.
We had our wedding ceremony at the hotel chapel.
Usually means 'church,' but can be used for a chapel in casual speech when the distinction isn't important. Use with caution.
May cause confusion if you specifically mean a chapel rather than a full church.
That small church is used as a chapel.
A dedicated room inside a hospital, school, prison, or other institution for private prayer or small services.
Sometimes used loosely for a small place of worship in other religions, but this is rare in Japanese.
For non-Christian contexts, avoid 'chapel.' Use terms like 神殿 (shinden) for a shrine, 仏堂 (butsudō) for a Buddhist hall, or 祈りの場 (inori no ba) for a generic prayer space.
This shrine is used as a small place of worship.
礼拝堂 (reihaidō) specifically refers to a chapel, often smaller or part of a larger complex. 教会 (kyōkai) is the general word for a church building. Use 礼拝堂 when you want to emphasize the chapel's size or function as a subsidiary worship space.
In Japan, many hotels and wedding venues have chapels specifically for Christian-style weddings. These are almost always called チャペル (chaperu), not 礼拝堂.
学校のチャペルで毎朝礼拝があります。
There is a service every morning in the school chapel.