How to say "storage" in Japanese

Choosing the right word
  • 収納しゅうのうCommon
    noun, suru verb, transitive verbStorage in the sense of putting things away tidily, as in household or furniture contexts — clothes, bags and other belongings stored in drawers, closets or boxes. The everyday word for organized domestic storage.
    Andy hung his shirt up in the closet.
  • 保存ほぞんJLPT N3approx.Common
    noun, suru verb, transitive verbStorage as preservation: keeping data, documents or food intact over time so they are not lost or spoiled. A natural choice for saving files and for preserving perishables.
    私達わたしたちは田舎いなかの美うつくしさを保存ほぞんするべきだ。↗
    We should preserve the beauties of the countryside.
  • 格納かくのうCommon
    noun, suru verb, transitive verbStorage or housing of equipment and machines, and by extension data held inside a system. It suits technical contexts where something is housed or filed within a device or facility.
  • 貯蔵ちょぞうJLPT N2approx.Common
    noun, suru verb, transitive verbStorage as stockpiling or keeping reserves, especially of goods, fuel or food held in bulk over time. It emphasizes accumulating and holding a supply rather than simply putting things away.
  • 保管ほかんJLPT N1approx.Common
    noun, suru verb, transitive verbStorage in the sense of safekeeping or custody: holding something on someone's behalf and keeping it secure, such as luggage left at a counter or valuables entrusted to another party.
    領収書りょうしゅうしょは必かならず保管ほかんしてください。↗
    Make sure you save the receipt.

Choose by what is being stored and how: putting things away, preserving data or food, housing machines, stockpiling, or keeping items in safekeeping; 収納, 保存, 格納, 貯蔵 and 保管 each cover a different one of these senses.

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

Japanese equivalents
See also

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

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