What does 泊 mean in Japanese?
泊 means staying overnight. The kanji carries the water radical 氵 on the left — originally evoking a boat anchored for the night. For learners, the most important things to know are the verb 泊まる (tomaru, to stay overnight) and the counter 〜泊 (haku), which counts nights in accommodation.
There is a classic homophone trap here: 泊まる (stay overnight) and 止まる (to stop) are both read とまる. The water radical 氵 in 泊 is the distinguishing clue — if you see 氵, it is about staying; if you see 止, it is about stopping.
Reading
On’yomi: ハク (haku)
Kun’yomi: と-まる (to-maru), と-める (to-meru)
Basic Information
| Kanji | 泊 |
|---|---|
| Meaning | stay overnight, lodge |
| Stroke Count | 8 |
| JLPT Level | N4 |
How to Understand This Kanji
泊まる (intransitive): the subject stays overnight somewhere — ホテルに泊まる. 泊める (transitive): you accommodate someone — 友達を家に泊める (have a friend stay at your place). The counter 〜泊 (ハク) counts nights of accommodation; its reading changes with numbers in the same way other counters do: 一泊 (ippaku), 三泊 (sanpaku), 六泊 (roppaku).
Common Words
- 泊まる（とまる / tomaru） — to stay overnight, to lodge
- 一泊（いっぱく / ippaku） — one night’s stay
- 二泊（にはく / nihaku） — two nights’ stay
- 宿泊（しゅくはく / shukuhaku） — lodging, accommodation
- 泊まり（とまり / tomari） — overnight stay
- 泊める（とめる / tomeru） — to let someone stay, to put someone up for the night
Example Sentences
-
大阪のホテルに二泊しました。
おおさかのホテルににはくしました。 / Oosaka no hoteru ni nihaku shimashita.
I stayed two nights at a hotel in Osaka.
-
友達の家に泊まることになりました。
ともだちのいえにとまることになりました。 / Tomodachi no ie ni tomaru koto ni narimashita.
It turned out I would be staying at my friend’s house.
-
宿泊料金はいくらですか？
しゅくはくりょうきんはいくらですか？ / Shukuhaku ryoukin wa ikura desu ka?
What is the nightly lodging rate?
When Learners Usually See This Kanji
The homophone trap is the most important kanji-learning point for 泊. 泊まる (stay overnight, 泊 with 氵) and 止まる (stop, 止 without 氵) sound identical — とまる — but mean entirely different things. When reading or writing, the radical 氵 (water) is your clue: 氵 present → overnight stay; 氵 absent → stopping.
The counter 〜泊 (ハク) counts nights. Number + 泊 follows the same irregular sound changes as other counters: 一泊 (ippaku, not ichihaku), 三泊 (sanpaku), 六泊 (roppaku), 八泊 (happaku), 十泊 (juppaku). Learning these alongside 〜本, 〜匹 builds fluency with Japanese counter patterns generally.
宿泊 (shukuhaku, accommodation/lodging) is the formal written form. You will see it on booking sites (宿泊予約, accommodation booking), expense forms (宿泊費, lodging costs), and hotel websites (宿泊プラン, stay plan). In conversation, 泊まる is always more natural.
Summary
泊 means staying overnight, with the counter 〜泊 (one night = 一泊) and the verb 泊まる as the core forms; the 氵 radical distinguishes it from the homophone 止まる (to stop).