How to say "library" in Japanese
Choosing the right word
- nounA loanword that you will not normally hear for an actual library building; its natural home is technical language, especially computing, where it denotes a stock of reusable program code.
- 文庫ぶんこnounReally a book collection rather than the institution; in practice it appears chiefly as part of proper names, so for a public or school library it is not the word you want — use 図書館.
- 書庫しょこnounThe storage side of a library: a room where books are kept, such as the stacks of a large library, rather than the library itself or the public reading facility.
- 書斎しょさいnounA private study in the home — a room of one's own for reading and work; its 'library' sense is this personal book room, never a public library.
- 図書館としょかんnounThe word you use for a library as an institution or facility — public, school, and university libraries alike; when you mean the place itself, this is what to say.
For a library as an institution, choose 図書館; 書斎 is a private home study, 書庫 a book-storage room, 文庫 a book collection, and 「ライブラリー」 a loanword heard mainly in technical contexts.
Usage comparisons are AI-assisted and cross-checked by multiple models; for study reference only
Japanese equivalents
See also
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