棚(たな)

たな
noun
shelf, rack
1. shelf, rack
A flat horizontal surface attached to a wall or in a frame, used for storing or displaying things.
本(ほん)を棚(たな)に置(お)いてください。
Please put the book on the shelf.
棚(たな)から物(もの)が落(お)ちた。
Something fell from the shelf.
新(あたら)しい本棚(ほんだな)を買(か)いました。
I bought a new bookshelf.

棚(たな) is a general word for any shelf, rack, or shelving unit. It appears in many compound words where it specifies the type of shelf.

COMMON COMPOUNDS:

  • 本棚(ほんだな): bookshelf
  • 食器棚(しょっきだな): cupboard, dish cabinet
  • 戸棚(とだな): cupboard, cabinet (with doors)
  • 神棚(かみだな): household Shinto altar shelf
  • 棚(たな)卸(おろ)し: stocktaking, inventory check

IDIOMS:

  • 棚(たな)に上(あ)げる: to shelve (an issue); also means to ignore one's own faults while criticizing others
  • 棚(たな)からぼた餅(もち): unexpected good fortune (lit. rice cake falling from a shelf)

USAGE:
In compounds, 棚(たな) often becomes -だな due to rendaku (sequential voicing).

general
Added 2026.1.9 21:38 · Revised 2026.3.30 14:29
01500/01650_tana