三階(さんがい)

三(さん) (three) + 階(かい) (floor, story). The reading of 階(かい) voices to がい after 三(さん) (automatic post-nasal voicing, closely related to rendaku).

Pronunciation

Both さんがい and さんかい are heard, but さんがい is the traditional and more common reading. The non-rendaku さんかい is increasingly used by younger speakers, especially because the homophone 三回(さんかい) (three times) is read with the same さんかい — this can cause confusion in speech.

Common collocations

• 三階(さんがい)建(だ)て: three-story (building)
• 三階(さんがい)に上(あ)がる: to go up to the third floor
• 三階(さんがい)の窓(まど): third-floor window

Counting patterns

• 一階(いっかい): first floor (ground floor)
• 二階(にかい): second floor
• 三階(さんがい): third floor
• 四階(よんかい): fourth floor
• 五階(ごかい): fifth floor