Translation guide
How to talk about renting a room in Japanese, from finding a place to signing a lease.
Expressing the act of renting a room for living purposes.
The most common and natural way to say 'rent a room'. 借りる means 'to borrow/rent'.
来月から部屋を借ります。
I'm renting a room from next month.
More formal, often used in contracts or real estate contexts. 賃貸 means 'lease/rental'.
この物件は部屋を賃貸しています。
This property is renting out rooms.
Specifically refers to sharing a room or house with others, not just renting alone.
友達とルームシェアをしています。
I'm sharing a room with a friend.
Expressing the process of searching for a rental room.
Standard way to say 'look for a room'. 探す means 'to search'.
今、部屋を探しています。
I'm looking for a room right now.
More specific, meaning 'search for rental properties'. Used in real estate contexts.
賃貸物件を探すのに苦労しています。
I'm having trouble finding a rental property.
Expressing the act of leasing a room to someone else.
The direct counterpart to 借りる. 貸す means 'to lend/rent out'.
空いている部屋を貸しています。
I'm renting out a vacant room.
More formal, often used by landlords or agencies.
大家が部屋を賃貸に出しています。
The landlord is renting out the room.
Referring to the contract process when renting.
Formal phrase for 'sign a lease/rental agreement'.
昨日、賃貸契約を結びました。
I signed the lease yesterday.
A slightly less formal way to say 'make a contract for a room'.
部屋の契約をする前に、よく確認してください。
Please check carefully before signing the room contract.
借りる (kariru) means 'to borrow/rent from someone', while 貸す (kasu) means 'to lend/rent out to someone'. Mixing them up changes who is the tenant and who is the landlord.
私は部屋を借りました。
I rented a room (from someone).
私は部屋を貸しました。
I rented out a room (to someone).
賃貸 is a key word in real estate. You'll see it on signs (賃貸物件 - rental property) and in contracts. It's more formal than 借りる/貸す and is often used in written Japanese.