How to say "bookstore" in Japanese

• 本屋ほんやCommon
  nounThe everyday word for a shop that sells books; in conversation this is the natural choice, as when telling someone you bought a novel at the bookstore near the station.
  １階かいは本屋ほんやに貸かしてあった。↗

  The downstairs was rented to a bookseller.
• 書店しょてんJLPT N2approx.Common
  nounAlso a shop that sells books, but it sounds more formal and is the term you see in shop signs, business writing, and store names rather than in casual chat.
  書店しょてんで手てに入はいります。↗

  You can get it at a bookstore.
• 書林しょりんCommon
  nounChiefly a literary expression for a vast stock or collection of books; as a way to say 'bookstore' it is marginal, and you will seldom need it for that sense.
• 書房しょぼうCommon
  nounA bookshop, but also a publishing company; for an ordinary bookstore it is a marginal choice, and you are most likely to meet it in the names of publishers and bookshops.

Use 本屋 in everyday speech and 書店 in more formal or written contexts; 書林 and 書房 are marginal for 'bookstore' — the former chiefly means a vast collection of books, the latter a publishing company.

Usage comparisons are AI-assisted and cross-checked by multiple models; for study reference only

• 本屋ほんやbookstore
• 書店しょてんbookshop
• 書林しょりんvast stock of books
• 書肆しょしbookstore
• 書籍商しょせきしょうbookstore
• ブックストアbookstore
• 書房しょぼうbookstore