食堂|しょくどうshokudou[0]heiban (flat)

JLPT N5approx.Common
Definitions
  1. noundining room; dining hall; cafeteria; canteen; messroom
    私達わたしたちの家いえは食堂しょくどうを含ふくめて7部屋へやあります。↗
    Our house has seven rooms including the dining room.
  2. nounrestaurant; eatery; snack bar; diner
    私は角かどを曲まがって、開店かいてん早々そうそうの食堂しょくどうを見みつけた。↗
    I turned the corner and caught sight of a newly opened restaurant.
Synonyms & antonyms
  • SynonymレストランNeutralLoanword mainly for Western-style restaurants, from budget chains to high-end; 「食堂」 leans toward popular eateries or a workplace/school cafeteria.
  • SynonymダイニングルームNeutralLoanword for the dining room in a home, as in 「ダイニングキッチン」; it is not an eating establishment, while 「食堂」 can also mean a restaurant.
  • RelatedカフェNeutralLoanword for a stylish café serving drinks and light fare; more casual than 「食堂」 and not centered on full meals.
  • Related料亭りょうていFormalFormal term for an upscale Japanese restaurant, usually with private rooms, used for entertaining guests; 「食堂」 is an inexpensive, everyday place to eat.
  • Related喫茶店きっさてんNeutralA traditional coffee shop with a retro Showa feel, selling mainly drinks and light snacks; 「食堂」 focuses on proper meals.
  • Related料理屋りょうりやNeutralA restaurant that cooks food for customers, usually Japanese-style, with a slightly old-fashioned tone; 「食堂」 is more everyday and down-to-earth.
  • Related茶店さてんNeutralRead 「さてん」, it is often a colloquial name for a 「喫茶店」; it can also mean a shop selling tea leaves or a small roadside stop for travelers.
  • RelatedコーヒーショップNeutralLoanword for a shop built around coffee, often seen in chain-store names; 「食堂」 is centered on meals.
  • Related飲食店いんしょくてんWrittenWritten term for any establishment serving food and drink, an umbrella word common in official and statistical use; 「食堂」 is a concrete, popular eatery.
  • RelatedグリルNeutralLoanword for a Western-style restaurant serving grilled dishes, often in names like 「〜グリル」; it can also mean a grill, while 「食堂」 is not tied to any cuisine.
  • RelatedダイニングNeutralLoanword for dining or a dining room, mostly in shop names and floor plans, rarely alone; 「食堂」 is the everyday word.
  • RelatedパーラーNeutralLoanword mostly for a fruit-parlor-style dessert shop, as in 「フルーツパーラー」, and also for pachinko parlors; not a place for full meals.
  • Related茶寮ちゃりょうFormalFormal word for a tea room or elegant shop serving tea and refreshments, often in shop names, with a refined Japanese flavor; 「食堂」 is a place for ordinary diners.
  • Relatedお食事処おしょくじどころNeutralA Japanese-style restaurant, common on signs and in tourist areas, with a friendly Japanese charm; 「食堂」 can also mean a company or school cafeteria.
  • Related割烹店かっぽうてんFormalFormal term for an upscale restaurant serving authentic Japanese cuisine; 「食堂」 is cheap and unpretentious about its food.
  • Related食べ物屋たべものやCasualColloquial catch-all for any place selling food, with no regard for class and a casual feel; 「食堂」 is the more standard term.
  • Related料理店りょうりてんNeutralA restaurant, often paired with a cuisine as in 「中華料理店」; 「食堂」 is a popular eatery not tied to any one cuisine.
  • Related飯屋めしやCasualSlangy, colloquial word for a simple spot to eat and have a drink, with a rough, masculine tone; 「食堂」 is more neutral.
  • Related旗亭きていWrittenArchaic written word for a tavern, restaurant or inn, found only in literature; in daily speech use 「料理屋」 or 「食堂」.

Use 「食堂」 for an inexpensive eatery or a workplace or school cafeteria. For Western-style restaurants say 「レストラン」; for coffee shops, 「カフェ」 or 「喫茶店」; for a dining room at home, 「ダイニング」; for upscale Japanese entertaining, 「料亭」; as a general umbrella term, 「飲食店」.

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

Japanese definitions
  1. (しょくどう)建物たてものにおいて、そこに居住きょじゅうする人ひとが食事しょくじを供きょうする目的もくてきの場所ばしょ、空間くうかん、部屋へや。
  2. (しょくどう)食事しょくじ及およびそれを供きょうする場所ばしょを有料ゆうりょうで提供ていきょうする店舗てんぽ。特とくに、個室こしつに区切くぎらない大衆たいしゅう的てきなものを指さす。レストラン。料理屋りょうりや。
Kanji in this word
English 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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