吉利支丹是日本战国时代、江户时代乃至明治初期对日本天主教徒的称呼。「吉利支丹」一词源于葡萄牙语「cristão」，最早指的是信仰基督教的信徒，后来专指使用日本语的基督徒。

战国时代，圣方济·沙勿略来到日本传教，不少大名皈依了天主教，并支持天主教在其领地内的传播。1587年，丰臣秀吉颁布《伴天连追放令》，定天主教为邪教，禁止天主教的传播。多数大名被迫改信佛教和神道。

文禄庆长两战后，在日被抑留朝鲜人多数，改宗吉利支丹。

江户时代后，幕府于1613年发布禁教令，将天主教大名有马晴信处死，高山右近流放菲律宾。此后，幕府对天主教徒进行迫害，将他们蔑称为「鬼利死丹」。第五代将军德川纲吉之后，为避纲吉之讳，改称为「切支丹」，蔑称「切死丹」。

The Japanese term Kirishitan(吉利支丹, 切支丹, キリシタン, きりしたん), from Portuguese cristão, referred to Roman Catholic Christians in Japanese and is used in Japanese texts as a historiographic term for Roman Catholics in Japan in the 16th and 17th centuries.

Modern Japanese has several ways of spelling Christian of which the most common are the noun form kirisuto kyôto キリスト教徒, and also kurisuchan クリスチャン. The Japanese spelling kirishitan キリシタン is used primarily in Japanese texts for the early history of Roman Catholicism in Japan, or in relation to kakure kirishitan, Hidden Christians. However English sources on histories of Japan generally use the term "Christian" without distinction.