1.
mahjong parlor; mahjong club
A commercial establishment where customers rent a table and play mahjong, usually by the hour. They are a familiar feature of station-front buildings and of student and office-worker life.
The 雀 is from 麻雀 (mahjong), and 荘 is the same "lodge, villa" character found in apartment-building names. Note the irregular reading: 雀 here, not すずめ.
Common collocations
- 雀荘に通う: to frequent a mahjong parlor
- 雀荘で打つ: to play (mahjong) at a parlor — 打つ is the standard verb for playing mahjong
- フリーの雀荘: a parlor where solo customers are matched into a group
Cultural note
Parlors advertise themselves as ノーレート (no stakes) or by the rate played. In fiction and memoirs the 雀荘 is a stock setting for all-night student life.