also: こみせ
small shop; little store
Neutral term for a physically small retail establishment.
Small shops line the area in front of the station.
my shop (humble)
Only with reading しょうてん
Humble expression used when referring to one's own shop to a customer or superior. Restricted to the reading しょうてん.
Our shop is currently holding a sale.
low-class brothel (Edo period, Yoshiwara)
Only with reading こみせ
Historical term for a lower-tier brothel in the Yoshiwara pleasure quarters during the Edo period. Restricted to the reading こみせ.
In the Edo period, there were brothels called 小見世 in Yoshiwara.
snow passage under eaves (Tōhoku region)
Only with reading こみせ
Regional term for a covered walkway formed under the extended eaves of houses after heavy snowfall, found in the Tōhoku region. Restricted to the reading こみせ.
In the snowy areas of the Tōhoku region, こみせ are used as winter walkways.
商店 is a more general and formal term for a shop or store, while 小店 specifically emphasizes small size or is used humbly.
店 is the common word for a shop or store, without the nuance of smallness or humility carried by 小店.
小店 is a small, modest shop, the direct opposite in scale to a 大店.
Standard kanji spelling for the reading しょうてん, used for a small shop or one's own shop (humble).
Historical kanji spelling for the reading こみせ, associated with Edo-period brothels and Tōhoku snow passages.
Kana spelling for the reading こみせ, used when the historical or regional senses are intended.
小店 is composed of 小 (small) and 店 (shop). The reading しょうてん is the on'yomi of the kanji, while こみせ is a kun'yomi-based reading. The historical and regional senses are specific to the こみせ reading.