Learn words for a tea-house stop in the Edo period (1603–1868).

The idea

茶屋（ちゃや） is a tea house; 旅人（たびびと） is a traveller and 客（きゃく） a customer or guest. Some roadside tea houses offered a place to drink tea and rest. At Utsunoya on the Tōkaidō, a local dumpling called 十団子 was sold at tea houses. 団子（だんご） are dumplings made with rice flour or other flours. These imagined examples use modern polite Japanese.

Patterns to compare
WordReading
茶屋ちゃや
旅人たびびと
客きゃく
団子だんご
宿やど

Examples

  • 江戸えど時代じだい、道みちの茶屋ちゃやで人ひとが休やすみました。In the Edo period, people rested at roadside tea houses.
  • 茶屋ちゃやでお茶ちゃを飲のみました。I drank tea at a tea house.
  • 客きゃくは団子だんごを食たべました。The customer ate a dumpling.
  • 旅人たびびとは道中どうちゅうで茶屋ちゃやに寄よりました。The traveller stopped at a tea house on the journey.
  • 団子だんごを一ひとつください。One dumpling, please.
  • 旅人たびびとは夜よる、宿やどに泊とまりました。At night, the traveller stayed at an inn.

Read-aloud uses a synthetic Japanese voice available on your device. Voice quality and availability vary; it does not assess your pronunciation.

Watch out

Tea houses varied by place and time; not every one served the same food. A tea house for a rest is different in purpose from a 宿, where a traveller can stay overnight.

Try it yourself

  1. Which place is a shop where people rest and drink tea? （茶屋ちゃや／宿やど）

    Show answer or example answer

    茶屋

    茶屋 is a tea house for tea and a rest; 宿 is lodging.

  2. Which is a food made with rice flour and similar ingredients? （団子だんご／お茶ちゃ）

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    団子

    団子 is a dumpling; お茶 is tea.

  3. Which place offers lodging for a night on a journey? （茶屋ちゃや／宿やど）

    Show answer or example answer

    宿

    宿 is lodging for the night; 茶屋 here is a place to stop for tea.

Use it today

Imagine stopping at a tea house: ask for a dumpling and describe where the traveller rests.