居間
Meaning in Englishliving room, sitting room
Animated kanji stroke order
Word context
What it means
What does 居間 mean? It refers to the main informal space inside a home where people gather to relax, talk, watch TV, and socialize. In everyday usage, 居間 denotes the central living area rather than a private bedroom or formal reception room.
Main meanings
- Primary meaning: the main living space in a house where family members gather for everyday activities.
- Nuance: conveys informal, comfortable space for daily life rather than a dedicated formal room.
- Usage note: in modern Japanese, 居間 often overlaps with the loanword リビング, used in marketing and casual speech.
How to use it
Used in everyday Japanese to denote the primary living space inside a home; appropriate for casual conversation and neutral writing; commonly paired with particles such as で, に, と, or を to describe actions and locations within 居間; typical contexts include family life, housing descriptions, and interior design references. 言い回し examples: 居間でテレビを見ます, 居間にソファがある, 居間を片付ける.
Variants and close terms
- リビング (ribingu) — living room
- 居室 (kyoshitsu) — a general term for a room inside a dwelling
- 客間 (kyakuma) — guest room, more formal or rarely used as a synonym depending on house style
Composition
- 居: to reside, stay
- 間: space, interval, room
- 居間: the space inside a home where people reside and gather
Etymology
Phonetic evolution: 居間 is a native compound read as ima by combining 居 (い) and 間 (ま), which yields a straightforward, everyday noun without relying on foreign phonology.
Word class
Noun (名詞)