How to say "location" in Japanese

Choosing the right word
  • 場所ばしょJLPT N4approx.Common
    nounThe all-purpose word for a place or spot: use it when 'location' simply means where something is or where something happens, with no special nuance of position or function.
  • 位置いちJLPT N3approx.Common
    noun, suru verb, intransitive verbEmphasizes position — where something is located within a space or relative to its surroundings — as when pinpointing where a building or an object sits on a map.
    彼かれの事務所じむしょは町まちの中心ちゅうしん部ぶに位置いちしている。↗
    His office is located in the center of the town.
  • 拠点きょてんCommon
    nounA location viewed as a base of operations or center of activity — a hub or stronghold. Not a neutral word for just any location; use it when the place serves as a base.
    リストラされた彼かれは心機一転しんきいってん、自宅じたくを拠点きょてんにSOHOビジネスを始はじめた。↗
    After getting downsized he started off on a clean slate and started a business working out of a home office.
  • ロケCommon
    noun, suru verbAn abbreviation for a shooting location — a film shoot on location rather than in the studio. It is not a general word for the location of anything else.
  • 所在しょざいJLPT N1approx.Common
    noun, suru verb, intransitive verbThe location or whereabouts of a person or thing — where someone or something is, especially when that is being asked or searched for; it names whereabouts rather than a place itself.
    その書類しょるいは何なん年ねんも所在しょざいが分わからなくなっていたが、不思議ふしぎにも先日せんじつ出でてきた。↗
    Missing for years, the document miraculously came to light the other day.

Choose 場所 for a place in general, 位置 for where something sits in a space, 拠点 for a base of operations, 「ロケ」 for a film-shoot location, and 所在 for the whereabouts of a person or thing.

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

Japanese equivalents
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JLPT vocabulary levels are community estimates, not official (no official lists have been published since the 2010 revision).

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