Room in Japanese: heya or shitsu, explained in detail

How to say “room” in Japanese

Japanese native speakers would say “heya”. It is the Japanese word for ‘room’. In this blog post, I will explain it in detail based on its kanji expression. And also, I will explain how to use it and how it is different from the similar word, “shitsu”. Let’s get started!

Contents

• Definition and meaning of “heya”
• Kanji characters used in “heya”
• Example #1: how to say “room” in Japanese
• Example #2: how to use “heya” as a counter
• Example #3: how to use “shitsu” as a counter
• Difference between “heya” and “shitsu”
• Summary

Definition and meaning of “heya”

First of all, let me start with the definition and meaning of “heya”.

• heya – 部屋 (へや) : a noun meaning ‘room’ in Japanese.

Depending on the situation, it can also be used as a plural noun to mean ‘rooms’. In the Japanese language, the border between singular and plural nouns is very ambiguous. So, many Japanese nouns can be used as both a singular and a plural. “Heya” is one of them. Japanese native speakers use it to mean ‘room’ or ‘rooms’ in Japanese.

Its definition and meaning are very simple and clear, I think. To understand this word a bit more clearly, however, let me explain its kanji characters in detail.

Kanji characters used in “heya”

Below are the kanji characters used in “heya”.

• 部 – a kanji character widely used to mean ‘part’, ‘section’, ‘element’, or ‘division’.
• 屋 – a kanji character widely used to mean ‘building’, ‘house’, ‘shop’, or ‘roof’.

From these two kanji characters, we can understand that “heya” literally means a part of a building. This concept formed by these kanji seems to be completely in line with what “heya” means, I think. In many cases, checking kanji characters in detail is very helpful to understand meanings of words they form.

Then, let me explain how to use “heya” through the example sentences below.

Example #1: how to say “room” in Japanese

Below are new words used in the example sentence.

• ashita – 明日 (あした) : a noun meaning ‘tomorrow’ in Japanese. Grammatically, it is a noun, but can be used as an adverb and inserted almost anywhere in a sentence. In this regard, it is quite similar to the English word, “tomorrow”. In this example, it is used as an adverb to mean ‘tomorrow’. Learn more about “ashita”.
• wo – を : a case particle used to make the object word in a sentence. In the example, it is put after the noun, “heya”, to make the object word in the sentence. It is written as “wo”, but its actual pronunciation is “o”.
• souji shi – 掃除し (そうじし) : one conjugation of the verb, “souji suru”, which means ‘to clean’ in Japanese. Its conjugations are basically subjected to those of “suru”. So, we can focus only on its latter part for its conjugations. In the example, it has been conjugated for a better connection with its following word.
• masu – ます : an auxiliary verb put after a verb or auxiliary verb to make it polite. Probably, it is well known for a part of Japanese masu form. In the example, it is put after the conjugated verb, “souji shi”, to make it sound polite.

This is a typical usage of “heya”. In this example, it is used to mean ‘room’. “Heya wo souji suru” used in this example is a widely-used expression meaning ‘to clean a room’ in Japanese. It would be helpful when we want to say “clean a room” in Japanese.

Then, let me explain another way to use “heya”.

Example #2: how to use “heya” as a counter

Below are new words used in the example sentence.

• wa – は : a binding particle working as a case maker or topic maker. In the example, it works as a topic maker after “ashita”.
• san – 三 (さん) : a numeral meaning ‘three’ in Japanese.
• heya – 部屋 (へや) : a noun meaning ‘room’ in Japanese. In this example, it is put after the numeral, “san”, and works as a counter for rooms.
• tsukai – 使い (つかい) : one conjugation of the verb, “tsukau”, which means ‘to use’ in Japanese. In the example, it has been conjugated for a better connection with its following word.

This is another typical usage of “heya”. When it is put after a numeral like in this example, it can work as a counter for rooms. For the same purpose, the similar word, “shitsu”, can also be used. This example sentence can be paraphrased with “shitsu” as follows.

Example #3: how to use “shitsu” as a counter

As the translation shows, this Japanese sentence has the same meaning as the last one. Personally, this one sounds a bit more formal, but both meanings are still the same. So, both “heya” and “shitsu” can be used as a counter for rooms. Yet, these words are not completely the same. While “heya” is used alone or as a counter for rooms, “shitsu” is used only as a counter or suffix. Let me explain this point a bit more through the example sentence below.

Difference between “heya” and “shitsu”

Below is a new word used in the example sentence.

• kaigi – 会議 (かいぎ) : a noun meaning ‘meeting’ in Japanese.

This is another typical usage of “shitsu”. In this example, it is used as a suffix to add the meaning of “room” to its prior word, “kaigi”. So, the formed phrase, “kaigi shitsu”, has been translated as ‘meeting room’. As I mentioned above, “heya” is used alone or as a counter for rooms, so cannot be used as a suffix. It cannot take over the role of “shitsu” here. This is the grammatical background about the difference between “heya” and “shitsu”.

Summary

In this blog post, I’ve explained “heya” and how to use it through the example sentences. And also, I’ve explained the difference between “heya” and “shitsu”. Let me summarize them as follows.

• heya – 部屋 (へや) : a noun meaning ‘room’ or ‘rooms’ in Japanese. These two kanji characters literally mean a part of a building. It can also be used as a counter for rooms when it is put after a numeral.
• shitsu – 室 (しつ) : a counter or suffix meaning ‘room’ in Japanese. It is used to add the meaning of ‘room’ to its prior word.

Hope my explanations are understandable and helpful for Japanese learners.