Translation guide
A lodger is someone who rents a room in someone else's home, often sharing common areas. In Japanese, this concept is expressed through various terms depending on the living arrangement and formality.
To refer to a person who pays to live in a room in someone's house, typically with the owner present.
A person who rents a room in a private home, often with meals provided. This is a common term for a lodger in a traditional setting.
彼は学生の頃、下宿人として暮らしていた。
When he was a student, he lived as a lodger.
Literally 'room-borrowing person'. Refers to someone who rents a room in a house, often without meals. Slightly more casual than 下宿人.
大家さんは間借り人に優しかった。
The landlord was kind to the lodger.
A person who lives in someone else's home without paying rent, often in exchange for help. Not a true lodger, but sometimes used loosely. Can carry a negative connotation of freeloading.
This implies not paying rent, so use carefully.
彼は友達の家に居候している。
He's staying at his friend's place as a freeloader.
To refer to a lodger in a modern shared living arrangement, often with other unrelated tenants.
A person sharing a house or apartment, often used for modern shared housing. ルームシェア is a loanword from English 'room share'.
新しいルームシェアの同居人を探しています。
I'm looking for a new lodger to share the house.
A resident of a share house. シェアハウス is a common term for a house where multiple unrelated people live together.
シェアハウスの住人はみんな仲がいい。
The lodgers in the share house all get along well.
To use a precise term in legal, contractual, or formal contexts.
A legal term for a tenant or lessee, including lodgers. Used in contracts and official documents.
賃借人は契約に従って家賃を支払う義務がある。
The lodger is obligated to pay rent according to the contract.
The English word 'lodger' does not have a single direct equivalent in Japanese. The best term depends on the living situation. Using 下宿人 for a modern share house may sound old-fashioned.
下宿人 often implies meals are included (like a boarding house), while 間借り人 simply means renting a room. In modern contexts, ルームシェア or シェアハウス terms are more common for shared housing.