玄関
げんかん
hepburn genkan
entrance, foyer
Part of speech · noun
Pattern visualization
no decomposition available
Examples
- 玄関で靴を脱ぎます。I take my shoes off at the genkan.
- 玄関に花を飾ります。I display flowers at the entrance.
Collocations
玄関 (genkan, entrance hall — sunken)靴を脱ぐ (kutsu wo nugu, take off shoes)上がり框 (agarikamachi, step-up edge)下駄箱 (getabako, shoe rack)門 (mon, gate)
Mnemonic
玄関 genkan — kanji "deep dark (玄) + gateway (関)" — etymologically a Zen-temple term for "the profound entrance to enlightenment". Japanese genkan is not a mere doorway but a ritual inside/outside boundary: a 土間 (sunken dirt floor) + 上がり框 (step-up edge) → take off shoes, enter the home interior. It materializes Japan's precise inside-vs-outside (uchi-soto) social divide. Guests greet at the genkan before being led inside; delivery staff stop at the genkan and leave. One word layers religious etymology, architectural form, and social ritual.
Quick check
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