How to say "bed" in Japanese
Choosing the right word
- nounThe everyday word for a bed as a piece of furniture, typically a Western-style bed with a frame and mattress; when you just mean 'bed', this is the word you want.どんなベッドでもないよりはよい。↗Any bed is better than no bed.
- 床とこnounThe traditional word for a sleeping place — Japanese-style bedding laid out on the floor — rather than a Western bed as furniture; for an ordinary bed in everyday speech, ベッド is the word to reach for.
- 寝台しんだいnounA stiff, literary word for a bed or couch; it is seldom the word you want in everyday conversation, appearing mainly in writing and set expressions.
- 寝床ねどこnounThe place where one sleeps rather than the piece of furniture: it covers a berth on a train or ship, a crib or cot for a small child, and one's own sleeping spot.
- 地盤じばんnounNothing to do with sleeping: this is the earth-science sense of 'bed' — the ground itself, or the bed of a river or gravel deposit. For a bed you sleep in, it is the wrong word.
Use 「ベッド」 for an ordinary bed as furniture, 床 for a traditional Japanese sleeping place, 寝床 for a berth or a child's cot, 寝台 in formal or written contexts, and 地盤 only for the ground or riverbed sense.
Usage comparisons are AI-assisted and cross-checked by multiple models; for study reference only
Japanese equivalents
See also
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