
Consider yourself a shopaholic? You’re in the right country. Japan is, after all, brimming with department stores, ranging from high-end to discount shops. You’ll find our Japanese department vocabulary cheat sheet your holy grail.
We’ll be listing all the names of store departments and items. Categorized based on the common floors they’re found on, we’ve designed them in a way for you to recognize them immediately.
With this cheat sheet, you can easily navigate your way through the shopping malls in Japan and identify the stores and categories with ease. If you ever need help searching for something, you can seek assistance after practicing your spoken skills with the pronunciations provided.
Department
Here are the various department terminologies found on the different floors in a mall:
5th floor:
Japanese | Pronunciation | Meaning |
---|---|---|
レストラン街 | resutoran gai | Food mall |
フードコート | fūdo kōto | Food court |
きもの | kimono | Kimono |
雑貨 | ざっか zakka | Miscellaneous goods |
4th floor:
Japanese | Pronunciation | Meaning |
---|---|---|
ベビー / こども服 | bebī / kodomo fuku | Baby/ Children’s clothing |
おもちゃ | omocha | Toys |
ベビー用品 | ようひん bebī yōhin | Baby goods |
電気製品 | でんきせいひん denki seihin | Electronic goods |
3rd floor:
Japanese | Pronunciation | Meaning |
---|---|---|
家庭用品 | かていようひん katei yōhin | Household goods |
家具 | か ぐ kagu | Furniture |
文具 | ぶんぐ bungu | Stationary |
書籍 | しょせき shoseki | Books |
2nd floor:
Japanese | Pronunciation | Meaning |
---|---|---|
婦人服 | ふじんふく fujin fuku | Women’s clothing |
紳士服 | しんしふく shinshi fuku | Men’s clothing |
スポーツ用品 | ようひん supōtsu yōhin | Sporting goods |
鞄 | かばん kaban | Bags |
1st floor:
Japanese | Pronunciation | Meaning |
---|---|---|
食品 | しょくひん shoku hin | Groceries |
コスメ / 化粧品 | けしょうひん kosume / keshō hin | Cosmetics |
アクセサリー | akusesarī | Accessories |
Example Sentences:
After learning the different department terminologies, here are examples of how to use them in conversational sentences.
Sentence example 1:
One can say ‘すみません、ベビー服を探しています。何階にありますか?‘
Pronunciation: Sumimasen, bebī fuku o sagashite imasu. Nankai ni arimasuka?
It means to ask ‘Excuse me, I’m looking for baby clothes. Where can I find them?’
Sentence example 2:
One can say: ‘ベビー服は4階にあります。‘
Pronunciation: Bebī fuku wa yon kai ni arimasu.
Which means ‘You can find baby clothes on the fourth floor.’