What is the Kanji for "Shop"?

If you are wondering what is the Japanese Kanji for "Shop", you've come to the right place!

The Japanese Kanji for "Shop" is "店".

This kanji has 3 readings:

Its kunyomi readings are "Mise" and "Tana".

Its onyomi reading is "Ten".

kunyomi readings are based on the pronunciation of native Japanese words, and onyomi readings are based on the Chinese pronunciation of the character.

If you visually breakdown this kanji, you can see is made up of 2 parts:

The radical "广" means "Dotted cliff" . And The kanji "占" means "Fortune telling" and can be read as "Sen", "Shi", and "Urana".

Now, let's make sure you understand this kanji the other way around too.

What does the kanji "店" mean in japanese?

"店" means "Shop".

Japanese School Students learn this kanji in Second Grade, while foreigners may learn this kanji in preparation for the JLPT N4 exam.

Here are some words that use this kanji:

店: "Shop". The Japanese noun '店 (みせ)' refers to a retail establishment where goods or services are sold. This can include a wide variety of businesses such as restaurants, clothing stores, electronics shops, and more. '店' is a commonly used word that is found in many compound words related to different types of shops and businesses. For example: The clothing shop is open late - (洋服の店は遅く開いている). I went to the bookstore - (本屋に行きました).

売店: "Shop". The Japanese noun '売店 (ばいてん)' refers to a small shop or kiosk, often located in a public place such as a train station, school, or airport. These types of shops typically sell everyday items like snacks, drinks, newspapers, or other small goods. For example: There is a shop selling magazines at the train station - (駅にはマガジンを売っている売店があります).

喫茶店: "Cafe". The Japanese noun '喫茶店 (きっさてん)' refers to a cafe, a place where people can go to drink coffee, tea, and other beverages and sometimes eat light meals or snacks. Cafes are a popular social gathering place in Japan. For example: I enjoy visiting the cafe near my house - (私は家の近くのカフェに行くのが好きです). Let's meet at the cafe downtown - (downtown のカフェで会いましょう).

小売店: "Retail store". The Japanese noun '小売店 (こうりてん)' refers to a retail store or a shop that sells goods directly to consumers. These establishments are where customers can purchase items for personal or household use, as opposed to wholesale businesses that sell products in bulk to other businesses. Small mom-and-pop shops, large department stores, and specialized boutiques are all examples of 小売店. For instance: I went shopping at the retail store - (小売店で買い物をした)。She works at a retail clothing store - (彼女は小売りの衣料品店で働いている).

商店: "Store". The Japanese noun '商店 (しょうてん)' refers to a small retail business that sells goods to the general public. It typically has a physical location where customers can come and purchase items. '商店' is often used to describe small, locally-owned shops rather than large chain stores or supermarkets. For example: I need to go to the store to buy groceries - (食料品を買うために商店に行く必要がある). The new store opened last week - (先週新しい商店がオープンした).

店員: "Employee". The Japanese noun '店員 (てんいん)' refers to an employee or staff member working at a shop, store or place of business. This term is commonly used to describe the people who help customers, work the cash registers, stock shelves, etc. within a retail establishment. For example: The employee helped me find what I was looking for - (店員がほしいものを見つけてくれた). I asked the employee where the restrooms were - (店員にトイレの場所を聞きました).

書店: "Bookstore". The Japanese noun '書店 (しょてん)' refers to a retail establishment that primarily sells books, magazines, and other publications. Bookstores in Japan often carry a wide selection of both Japanese and foreign language books, as well as other media like DVDs and stationery. They are an important part of the cultural landscape in Japan. For example: I enjoy browsing the bookstore - (書店で本を探すのが好きです). She works at the local bookstore - (彼女は地元の書店で働いています).

店舗: "Store". The noun '店舗 (てんぽ)' refers to a physical location where a business sells goods or provides services to customers. This can include retail stores, restaurants, offices, and other commercial establishments. '店舗' emphasizes the physical building or space occupied by a business. For example: The new store opened their first store location - (新しい店が初の店舗をオープンした)

閉店: "Closing". The verbal noun '閉店 (へいてん)' means 'closing'. This term refers to the act of a store, business or establishment closing for the day or permanently. It indicates the end of the operating hours or the end of a business's daily activities. For example: The shop closed at 7pm - (店は７時に閉店しました). I went to the store before it closed - (店が閉店する前に行きました).

本店: "Main store". The Japanese noun '本店 (ほんてん)' refers to the main or principal store or office of a business. It is the central location or headquarters where the core operations of the company are based. This is often contrasted with branch stores or regional offices that are subordinate to the main location. For example: The main store is located downtown - (本店は市街地にある). The company has its headquarters at the main store - (同社の本店が社長室がある).

支店: "Branch". The Japanese noun '支店 (してん)' means 'branch'. This noun refers to a subsidiary location or office of a larger organization, such as a bank, company, or store. It is often used to describe additional physical locations that are connected to and operate under the main or central branch. For example: The bank has a branch near the station - (銀行は駅の近くに支店があります). I need to go to the branch to make a deposit - (預金をするために支店に行かなければなりません).

百貨店: "Department store". The Japanese noun '百貨店 (ひゃっかてん)' means 'department store'. A department store is a large retail establishment that sells a wide variety of merchandise, typically including clothing, home furnishings, appliances, electronics, and other goods. Department stores are a common sight in Japanese cities and are often multi-story buildings that offer a diverse shopping experience. For example: I went shopping at the department store - (百貨店で買い物をしました).

To make really sure you learn this Kanji, I've prepared an interactive lesson for you. You are going to learn the readings and meanings of this kanji.

But first, you need to know a little bit about Hiragana and Katakana.

Hiragana and katakana are japanese syllabaries, this means that each character represents a syllable.

This are the characters you need to know for this lesson:

The hiragana "て" is read as "te". The hiragana "ん" is read as "n". The hiragana "み" is read as "mi". The hiragana "せ" is read as "se". The hiragana "た" is read as "ta". And The hiragana "な" is read as "na".

Heres a quick tutorial on how to use it. You'll be asked three type of questions: meaning, reading, and writing.

For meanings questions all you have to do is type the english meaning. If there is more than one meaning, you have to include them all in your answer separating them by commas (,).

For Reading questions you have to type the reading in romaji (roman letters, our normal alphabet) and it'll be automatically converted to hiragana if necessary. If there is more than one reading, you have to include them all in your answer separating them by commas (,).

For Writing questions some options will appear and all you have to do is select the correct ones.