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 uses kun'yomi readings. It's actually 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 . This is all a bit much, so here's a mnemonic to help you remember this reading:

Just imagine that you rent out a room and the only one they have left is the hay () room in the barn, so you sleep there for the night. Imagine the smell of hay and how scratchy it is to sleep in this room.

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