ホール

ほーる
noun
hall, auditorium, lobby
building
1. hall, auditorium, concert hall
A large room or building used for concerts, lectures, ceremonies, and other public events.
コンサートホールで演奏(えんそう)する。
Perform at a concert hall.
This hall has wonderful acoustics.
A lecture will be held at the civic hall.
2. lobby, entrance hall, front-of-house area
The main public area of a hotel, restaurant, or building. In restaurants, the dining area as opposed to the kitchen.
We're hiring front-of-house staff.
玄関(げんかん)ホールで友達(ともだち)と待(ま)ち合(あ)わせた。
I met my friend in the entrance hall.
In a restaurant, work is divided between the front-of-house and the kitchen.

Usage

In restaurant job listings, ホール refers to the dining area and ホールスタッフ means front-of-house staff (waiters, hosts). This is a very common distinction in Japanese job ads: ホール vs. キッチン.

Common collocations

  • コンサートホール: concert hall
  • 市民(しみん)ホール: civic hall, community center
  • ホールスタッフ: front-of-house staff (restaurant)
  • 多目的(たもくてき)ホール: multipurpose hall
  • 大(おお)ホール/小(しょう)ホール: large hall / small hall

Watch out: ホール can also come from English "whole" (ホールケーキ, a whole round cake) or "hole" (a golf hole, ホールインワン).