店 – Kanji Meaning, Reading, and Common Words

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What does 店 mean in Japanese?

店 means shop or store. The kun’yomi みせ (mise) is the everyday word: あの店 (that shop), 店を開ける (to open the shop).

The on’yomi テン builds the shop-type words: 書店 (shoten, bookstore), 喫茶店 (kissaten, cafe), and 売店 (baiten, kiosk), plus the people words 店員 (ten’in, shop clerk) and 店長 (tenchou, manager). The 广 shape draping over the character suggests a roofed building, a fitting frame for a shop.

Reading

On’yomi: テン (ten)

Kun’yomi: みせ (mise)

Basic Information

Kanji 店
Meaning shop, store
Stroke Count 8
JLPT Level N4

How to Understand This Kanji

みせ (mise) is the word for a shop as a place in daily conversation. The テン compounds name kinds of shops: 書店 (bookstore), 喫茶店 (cafe), 売店 (the small kiosk in a station or hospital). For people, 店員 (ten’in) is any clerk or staff member and 店長 (tenchou) is the manager. Japanese also borrows the pattern for restaurants: この店 works equally for a ramen shop or a boutique. Related everyday signs include 開店 (kaiten, opening) and 閉店 (heiten, closing).

Common Words

  • 店（みせ / mise） — shop, store
  • 店員（てんいん / ten’in） — shop clerk, staff
  • 書店（しょてん / shoten） — bookstore
  • 喫茶店（きっさてん / kissaten） — cafe, tearoom
  • 売店（ばいてん / baiten） — kiosk, stand
  • 店長（てんちょう / tenchou） — shop manager

Example Sentences

  • あの店のパンはおいしいです。

    あのみせのぱんはおいしいです。 / Ano mise no pan wa oishii desu.

    The bread at that shop is delicious.

  • 店員に道を聞きました。

    てんいんにみちをききました。 / Ten’in ni michi o kikimashita.

    I asked a shop clerk for directions.

  • 駅の中に書店があります。

    えきのなかにしょてんがあります。 / Eki no naka ni shoten ga arimasu.

    There is a bookstore inside the station.

Related Kanji

  • 買

    — Buy — 店で買う (to buy at a shop); the buying verb is the reason shops exist in your sentences

  • 書

    — Write/book — 書店 (bookstore) = 書 + 店; the 〜店 pattern turns any product kanji into a shop name

  • 堂

    — Hall — 店 and 堂 both name places to eat and buy; comparing 喫茶店 with 食堂 shows how the two building kanji divide the territory

When Learners Usually See This Kanji

Use みせ when talking about a shop and テン when naming a type of shop. The pattern 〜店 = kind of store lets you decode signs instantly: 書店 (books), 洋品店 (clothing), 専門店 (specialty store).

店員さん is the polite way to refer to or call a member of staff: 店員さんに聞きましょう (let’s ask the clerk). Note the reading てんいん (ten’in); in romaji this site writes the syllable break as ten’in so the ん is not swallowed.

The useful sign pair is 開店 (kaiten, shop opening) and 閉店 (heiten, shop closing): 閉店時間 is closing time. Both use 店’s on’yomi and appear on every shop door.

Summary

店 means shop: みせ for the place, テン for compounds like 書店, 喫茶店, and 店員. Learn the sign pair 開店 / 閉店 and the people words 店員 and 店長.