Word
Kana: てんいん Romaji: tenin Level: N4

店員

Meaning in English

clerk, shop employee

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Word context

What it means

店員 means a shop clerk or store employee who assists customers and handles day-to-day tasks in retail settings; it denotes staff rather than a manager, and is used across retail contexts from convenience stores to department stores.

Main meanings

  • General meaning: a staff member who works at a store and assists customers.
  • Polite address: 店員さん used when addressing a staff member in a friendly way.
  • Broader retail context: can refer to employees across various shop types, from convenience stores to department stores.

How to use it

Used in retail and service contexts to refer to staff; in formal or semi-formal speech, it is a neutral noun; in casual settings, 店員さん is common when addressing a clerk or referring to staff in conversation; signage and product packaging may use it to indicate staff presence.

Variants and close terms

  • 販売員 (hanbaiin) - salesperson
  • 店員さん (ten'in-san) - polite address
  • 従業員 (jūgyōin) - employee in a broader workplace context

Composition

  • 店: store, shop
  • 員: member, person, attendant
  • 店員: a person who works at a store; a shop clerk

Etymology

From Sino-Japanese on'yomi readings; the compound combines 店 and 員 with the pronunciation ten'in, a regular on'yomi construction for store-related roles.

Word class

noun (名詞)

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