二階(にかい)

にかい
noun
second floor; upstairs
buildingplaces
1. second floor; upstairs
The floor directly above the ground level of a building. In a typical two-storey Japanese house, this is where bedrooms are usually located, with living areas on the first floor.
二階(にかい)に上(あ)がる。
I'll go upstairs.
寝室(しんしつ)は二階(にかい)にある。
The bedrooms are upstairs.
二階(にかい)から窓越(まどご)しに庭(にわ)を眺(なが)めるのが好(す)きだ。
I like looking at the garden through the window from upstairs.

Formed with the counter 階(かい) (floors). Often used in expressions where "upstairs" would be natural in English, including the idiom below.

Common collocations

  • 二階(にかい)に上(あ)がる: to go up to the second floor
  • 二階(にかい)から降(お)りる: to come down from the second floor
  • 二階(にかい)建(だ)て: two-storey (building)
  • 二階(にかい)席(せき): upper-deck seats (in a vehicle or theater)

Common expressions

  • 二階(にかい)から目薬(めぐすり): "eye drops from the second floor" — doing something ineffective or roundabout (the medicine never reaches its target).

Forms

Related Words

Related: 何階(なんかい) (what floor)
general
Added 2026.5.13 12:10 · Revised 2026.9.2 13:02
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