How to say "playhouse" in Japanese

• 劇場げきじょうJLPT N3approx.Common
  nounThe general word for a theatre: a building or venue where plays and other performances are staged. Choose it for 'playhouse' whenever you simply mean a theatre, with no suggestion of smallness or quaintness.
  さあ劇場げきじょうに着ついたぜ。↗

  Here we are at the theater.
• 芝居小屋しばいごやCommon
  nounCovers 'playhouse' in its concrete, picturesque sense: a small theatre building, the humble, often old-fashioned sort that its element 小屋 ('hut') evokes. Use it when that cosy, small-scale image is what you want.
  芝居しばい小屋こや跡地あとちに学校がっこうが建たてられたのが1905年ねん4月がつでした。↗

  It was April 1905 when a school was built on the site of the theatre.

For 'playhouse' meaning a theatre in general, use 劇場; reserve 芝居小屋 for the image of a small, often old-fashioned playhouse, the humble sort its element 小屋 ('hut') suggests.

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

• 劇場げきじょうtheatre
• 芝居小屋しばいごやplayhouse
• 演舞場えんぶじょうtheatre