ドアチャイム

ドアチャイム is a wasei-eigo compound ("door" + "chime") referring to a doorbell, typically one that plays a soft melodic chime rather than a harsh buzz.

Common collocations

• ドアチャイムを押(お)す: to press the door chime
• ドアチャイムを鳴(な)らす: to ring the door chime
• ドアチャイムが鳴(な)る: the door chime rings
• ドアチャイムに出(で)る: to answer the door (when the chime rings)

Similar words

• インターホン: intercom — combines a chime with a two-way audio (and often video) communication system; this is what most modern Japanese apartments actually have, though many people still call it ドアチャイム casually
• 呼(よ)び鈴(りん): doorbell (more old-fashioned native term)
• ドアベル: door bell (alternative loanword, less common)
• チャイム: chime (general — also used for school bells, train chimes, and the boarding chime in trains)

Usage

• In conversation, ドアチャイムが鳴(な)った and インターホンが鳴(な)った are often used interchangeably, even though they technically refer to slightly different devices.
• The ピンポーン sound that the chime makes is so iconic that ピンポーンが鳴(な)る is a common informal way to say "the doorbell rang."