Meaning

Primary

Room

Word Type

noun

Explanation

If you have a part of a roof, that part is your room. Just imagine a roof divided into sections in a house, with the sections going all the way down to the ground. Each section is its own room, right?

Reading

へや
  • Kyoko
    (Tokyo accent, female)
  • Kenichi
    (Tokyo accent, male)

Explanation

The reading of 部屋 is a bit unusual. Both and use kun'yomi readings, but is read as , due to something called ateji. Ateji is when kanji are used just for their sound, regardless of meaning; or just for their meaning, regardless of sound. In this case it's the former, as was chosen for its archaic reading, which was close enough to . If this is all a bit much, here's a mnemonic to help you remember this reading:

Imagine you’re renting out a room, but all you hear at night is a constant "heh ()… heh... heh... hehehe". An incessant snickering, coming from somewhere inside your room. Hehehe.

Context

Common Word Combinations

  • 部屋にいる

    to be in a room, to be in one's room

    部屋にもどる

    to return to the room

    部屋に入る

    to enter the room

Context Sentences

私の部屋にはベッドがあります。

There's a bed in my room.

南を向いた部屋なので、日当たりがすごくいいんです。

The room is facing south, so it gets good sunlight.

今日の午後は部屋のクリーニングをする予定です。

I plan to clean the room this afternoon.

Kanji Composition