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.
床の間に掛け軸が飾ってあります。
A hanging scroll is displayed in the alcove.
床の間の生け花がとても美しいですね。
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.
床にお花を飾りましょう。
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.
出窓の小部屋で本を読むのが好きです。
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.
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 more literary phrase meaning 'little nook by the window.' It evokes a cozy, tucked-away feeling.
窓辺の小隅で猫が丸まっている。
A cat is curled up in the little alcove by the window.
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.
このアパートにはベッドのための小部屋があります。
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.
古い家の床の間をベッドスペースに改造しました。
We converted the old house's alcove into a bed space.
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.
キッチンの小部屋で朝食をとります。
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.
ダイネットでコーヒーを飲みながら新聞を読む。
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.
廊下のアルコーブに彫刻が置かれている。
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.
There is a statue of the Virgin Mary in the church's alcove.
I made a small shelf in the wall recess.