King's Kung-Fu& Tai Chi

Japanese symbol for “bookstore”

Romaji: hon'ya
bookstore; bookshop

In Japanese, bookstore is , read (hon'ya).

Before using these characters for a tattoo, check them with a native speaker. Dictionary words often have several meanings, and the right choice depends on context.

Meanings

  1. n bookstore; bookshop
  2. n publisher
  3. n main building

Kanji and stroke order

book, present, main
on: ホン
kun: もと
5 strokes · JLPT 4
roof, house, shop
on: オク
kun: や
9 strokes · JLPT 3

Other Japanese words for “bookstore”

WordReadingMeaning
しょてん shotenbookshop; bookstore
しょぼう shoboubookstore; bookshop; publishing company
しょし shoshibookstore; bookshop
しょりん shorinvast stock of books; bookstore; bookshop
しょせきしょう shosekishoubookstore; bookshop

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

WordReadingMeaning
にほん nihonJapan
きほん kihonbasics; fundamentals; basis
ほんとう hontoutruth; reality; actuality
ほんにん honninthe person in question; the person themselves; said person
ほんらい honraioriginally; primarily
ほんき honkiseriousness; earnestness; truth
へや heyaroom; chamber
やね yaneroof

See also: Chinese symbol for “bookstore”.

Data: JMdict (CC BY-SA 4.0); KANJIDIC2 (CC BY-SA 4.0); KanjiVG (CC BY-SA 3.0); wordfreq (CC BY-SA 4.0 (data)). Retrieved 2026-10-22.

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