genkan

English

Etymology

From Japanese 玄関 (げんかん genkan), from Middle Chinese 玄關 (hwen-kwæn "entrance to Buddhist knowledge", by metaphor "front door') (compare Mandarin xuánguān 玄关), from Old Chinese 玄 (*ɢʷˁin "dark", "profound") + 關 (*kˁron "barrier", "gate").

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): [ˈɡɛŋkɑn]

Noun

genkan (plural genkans or genkan)

  1. The entryway to a Japanese house, where street shoes are removed and houseshoes put on before entering the house, and houseshoes removed and street shoes put on before leaving the house.

Japanese

Romanization

genkan

  1. Rōmaji transcription of げんかん
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