1.
department store
A large retail store carrying a wide variety of goods organized into departments. The formal term for what is more casually called デパート.
駅前の百貨店で買い物をした。
I shopped at the department store in front of the station.
老舗の百貨店が閉店することになった。
A long-established department store is going to close.
百貨店の地下食品売り場は、いつも賑わっている。
The basement food floor of the department store is always bustling.
USAGE:
More formal than the commonly used loanword デパート. Often used in news, business contexts, and official names. Major Japanese department stores include 三越, 伊勢丹, 高島屋, and 大丸. The 地下食品売り場 (basement food hall), nicknamed デパ地下, is a distinctive feature of Japanese department stores.
COMMON COLLOCATIONS:
- 百貨店業界 (department store industry)
- 大手百貨店 (major department store)
- 百貨店の売り上げ (department store sales)