Translation guide
The English verb 'summon' covers calling someone to appear, calling upon a quality or spirit, and formally ordering attendance. Japanese uses different verbs depending on what is being summoned and the context.
To ask or order someone to come to you, often in a formal or authoritative context.
General term for summoning someone, such as calling them out of a room or to a place. Can be used in both formal and casual settings.
I was summoned by my boss.
Formal or legal term for summoning, such as a court summons. Also used in fantasy contexts for summoning creatures.
To summon someone to your location, often implying they come from a distance. Slightly softer than .
Polite noun form, often used in customer service or formal announcements (e.g., paging someone).
To gather or muster courage, strength, energy, etc., from within oneself.
To call forth a supernatural entity through magic or ritual.
Standard term for summoning in fantasy, games, and occult contexts.
To issue an official order requiring someone to attend court, a hearing, etc.
Legal term for issuing a summons.
To call people together for a meeting or gathering.
Used for convening meetings, assemblies, or parliaments.
呼び出す is the everyday word for calling someone to come. 召喚する is formal and used for legal summons or magical summoning. Using 召喚する for calling a friend would sound strange.
I called my friend out.
Please summon him to the conference room.
The court summoned the witness.
He summoned his family to Tokyo.
Paging Mr./Ms. [Name].
Literally 'wring out', used for summoning the last of one's strength, courage, or voice. Often used with 勇気 (courage) or 声 (voice).
I summoned up my courage and spoke to her.
I summoned the last of my strength.
To stir up or summon courage, energy, etc. More literary than 振り絞る.
He summoned his courage and faced it.
To put strength into something; to summon power for a specific action.
He summoned strength in his arms and lifted the rock.
The wizard summoned a demon.
Also used for summoning spirits or familiars, though less formal than 召喚する.
a ritual to summon spirits
The court summoned the defendant.
Literally 'issue an order to appear', used in legal contexts.
The prosecution summoned the witness.
Parliament was summoned.
Often used interchangeably with 召集する, but can also mean calling a group together for a specific purpose.
An emergency meeting was summoned.
友達を召喚した。
I summoned my friend. (sounds like magic or a joke)
The English loanword サモン (samon) is used almost exclusively in gaming contexts (e.g., summoning monsters). It is not natural for everyday situations.