The Meaning of daidokoro [台所] In Japanese

台所
だいどころ
Romaji: daidokoro N5

What does 台所 mean?

Translation and Meaning

kitchen, lit. ‘platform place’

Definition

台所 (daidokoro) means the kitchen in Japanese. It denotes the room or designated area in a household where food is prepared and cooked and can also evoke the practical, day-to-day activities of meal preparation and food-related work within a home.

Type

noun (名詞)

Stroke Order

Meanings

  • Metonymic use for household management or finances in set phrases such as 台所事情 (daidokoro jijō); here the word extends beyond the physical room to domestic affairs.
  • Applied to kitchen-related goods and services when combined with other words to form compounds referring to utensils, supplies or tasks.
  • Sometimes used in casual speech to refer to the working area of food preparation in small businesses, though commercial terms like 厨房 (chūbō) are more common for restaurants.

Origin

The idea of a distinct cooking area in Japanese homes developed over centuries as domestic architecture and cooking technology changed; references to designated household cooking spaces appear in historical records from medieval and early modern Japan as hearths and workzones evolved into enclosed or semi-enclosed rooms identified by specific names.

Composition

  • 台 (dai): platform, stand; a raised or designated area.
  • 所 (tokoro): place, location.
Combined, the characters convey the idea of a specific ‘place on a platform’ used as a work area—historically applied to the part of a house where cooking and food preparation take place.

Usage

Used widely in everyday Japanese to refer to a home kitchen and in compound words for kitchen-related items; in modern spoken language the loanword キッチン (kicchin) often appears in real estate and marketing, while 台所 retains a neutral to slightly traditional tone appropriate for domestic contexts, casual conversation and written descriptions of household life.
💡 Tips
Picture a small raised dai (platform) in a home where someone stands to cook — that platform-place image links to 台所 (daidokoro) = kitchen.

Variations

  • キッチン (kicchin) — kitchen (loanword, modern usage)
  • 厨房 (chūbō) — kitchen (commercial, restaurant)
  • 調理場 (chōriba) — cooking area or preparation space

Example Phrases

  • 台所の 塵紙 で 食器を 拭く
    Daidokoro no chirigami de shokki o fuku
    I wipe the dishes with dust paper from the kitchen.
    Lista:
    • 台所の (daidokoro no) – kitchen’s
    • 塵紙 (chirigami) – dust paper
    • で (de) – using
    • 食器を (shokki o) – dishes
    • 拭く (fuku) – wipe
    Aqui, o で indica o meio (instrumento). O termo 「塵紙」 significa dust paper e funciona como instrumento da ação.
  • 台所で新しい調味料を少し試してみた。
    Daidokoro de atarashii choumiryou wo sukoshi tameshite mita.
    I tried a little bit of a new seasoning in the kitchen.
    Lista:
    • 台所 (daidokoro) – kitchen
    • 新しい (atarashii) – new
    • 調味料 (choumiryou) – seasoning
    • 少し (sukoshi) – a little
    • 試してみた (tameshite mita) – tried
    The noun 「調味料」 means seasoning; here it functions as the direct object of 試してみた.
  • 台所で鍋を洗うときは水を少しずつ使う。
    Daidokoro de nabe o arau toki wa mizu o sukoshi zutsu tsukau.
    When washing a pot in the kitchen, use a little water at a time.
    Lista:
    • 台所 (daidokoro) – kitchen
    • で (de) – location particle
    • 鍋を洗う (nabe o arau) – to wash a pot
    • ときは (toki wa) – when (topic)
    • 水を (mizu o) – water
    • 少しずつ (sukoshi zutsu) – little by little
    • 使う (tsukau) – to use
    Aqui aparece a estrutura 「〜ときは」 que significa ‘quando’, com o verbo no modo dicionário 「洗う」 (destacado entre 「」) para indicar a ação de lavar.
  • 台所の蛇口をひねると水が急に出た。
    Daidokoro no jakuchi wo hineru to mizu ga kyū ni deta.
    Water suddenly came out when I turned the faucet in the kitchen.
    Lista:
    • 台所の蛇口 (daidokoro no jakuchi) – kitchen faucet
    • を (wo) – object marker
    • ひねると (hineru to) – when you twist
    • 水が (mizu ga) – water
    • 急に (kyū ni) – suddenly
    • 出た (deta) – came out
    The target word 「蛇口」 means faucet; here it is the object of ひねる.
台所