Kotoba no Hibiki

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What words to express “competitor” in Japanese?

競技者きょうぎしゃ、選手せんしゅ、競合きょうごう他社たしゃ、競争きょうそう相手あいて、商売敵しょうばいがたき

We can distinguish two meanings of the word ‘competitor’ according to the Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries.
Japanese uses different expressions for each meaning.

​1. a person who takes part in a competition

the Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries

We can say 競技者きょうぎしゃ, 選手せんしゅ.

2. a person or an organization that competes against others, especially in business

the Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries

We can say 競合きょうごう他社たしゃ, 競争きょうそう相手あいて, 商売敵しょうばいがたき.

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Advanced Tips

競合きょうごう他社たしゃ and 競争きょうそう相手あいて don’t have a negative or positive connotation in themselves.

They simply mean others who have the same service or the same consumers as ours.

On the other hand, 商売敵しょうばいがたき can have a negative implication.
敵かたき・てき means ‘enemy’.

You can write 敵 or 仇 for かたき（がたき）.
仇 means an enemy who you have a grudge with.