1.
three-story; three-floored; having three levels
Describes a building that has three above-ground floors. Formed from the counter 三階 (three floors) plus 建て (built, constructed), this is part of the productive ～階建て pattern used to describe the number of stories in any building.
三階建ての家に住んでいる。
I live in a three-story house.
この辺りは三階建てのアパートが多い。
There are many three-story apartment buildings in this area.
新しい校舎は三階建てで、屋上にプールが付いている。
The new school building is three stories tall and has a pool on the roof.
Part of the productive ～階建て pattern used to describe the number of stories in a building. The pattern is: number + 階 + 建て.
COMMON PATTERN EXAMPLES:
- 二階建て: two-story
- 三階建て: three-story
- 五階建て: five-story
- 十階建て: ten-story
USAGE:
This compound functions as a noun that modifies other nouns with の, or is used as a prenominal modifier with の omitted. In real estate listings and architecture, this is one of the most basic building specifications. Note that 三階 uses the reading がい (not かい) due to sequential voicing (rendaku) after さん.
SIMILAR WORDS:
- 三階: third floor — refers to a specific floor rather than the building's total number of stories
- 平屋: single-story house — a specific architectural term rather than a numbered description