Translation guide
An alcove is a recessed space in a room, often used for seating, storage, or display. In Japanese homes, the most common alcove is the tokonoma, a decorative niche for art and flowers. Other types include window alcoves, bed alcoves, and kitchen alcoves.
A recessed space in a traditional Japanese room for displaying a hanging scroll, flower arrangement, or art object.
The standard term for a traditional Japanese alcove. It is a raised, recessed area in a washitsu (Japanese-style room) used to display art, flowers, or a hanging scroll. It is often the focal point of the room.
A hanging scroll is displayed in the alcove.
The flower arrangement in the alcove is very beautiful.
A shorter, more casual term for tokonoma, often used in everyday conversation. It can also refer to the raised floor area itself.
Let's decorate the alcove with flowers.
A recessed area by a window, often used as a cozy seating or reading nook.
Literally 'small room of the bay window,' this phrase describes a window alcove used as a cozy space. It is not a fixed term but a natural description.
I like reading books in the window alcove.
Bay window or oriel window. While it refers to the window structure itself, it often implies the alcove space created by it. Use context to clarify it's a seating area.
A more literary phrase meaning 'little nook by the window.' It evokes a cozy, tucked-away feeling.
A recessed area for a bed, often built into the wall, creating a cozy sleeping space.
A descriptive phrase meaning 'small room for a bed.' It clearly conveys the idea of a dedicated bed alcove.
This apartment has a bed alcove.
In modern or Western-style homes, tokonoma may be repurposed as a bed alcove, but this is not traditional. Use with caution and only if the context is clear.
Using tokonoma for a bed is unconventional and may confuse traditionalists. Only use if the alcove was originally a tokonoma.
A small recessed area in a kitchen or dining space, often with built-in seating.
A straightforward phrase meaning 'kitchen's small room' or 'kitchen nook.' It describes a cozy dining alcove.
We have breakfast in the kitchen alcove.
A loanword from 'dinette,' referring to a small dining area or breakfast nook, often in a kitchen alcove.
I read the newspaper while drinking coffee in the breakfast nook.
An alcove in a public space, hallway, or garden, used for seating, a statue, or a shrine.
The direct loanword from English, used in architectural contexts for a recessed space in a wall, often in Western-style buildings or public spaces.
A sculpture is placed in the hallway alcove.
A formal architectural term for a niche or alcove in a wall, often used for statues or decorative objects. It can also refer to a Buddhist shrine niche.
A general word for a hollow, dent, or recess. It can describe an alcove-like indentation but is less specific and more casual.
床の間 (tokonoma) is a traditional Japanese alcove with cultural significance, used for displaying art. アルコーブ (alcove) is a Western architectural term for any recessed space. Use 床の間 when referring to a Japanese-style room, and アルコーブ for modern or Western contexts.
床の間 is specifically a traditional Japanese alcove. Using it to describe a window nook or bed alcove in a modern apartment may sound odd unless the space was originally a tokonoma. Instead, use descriptive phrases like 出窓の小部屋 or ベッドのための小部屋.
出窓にクッションを置いて、読書スペースにしています。
I put cushions in the bay window and use it as a reading space.
A cat is curled up in the little alcove by the window.
We converted the old house's alcove into a bed space.
教会の壁龕に聖母像があります。
There is a statue of the Virgin Mary in the church's alcove.
壁の凹みに小さな棚を作った。
I made a small shelf in the wall recess.