shelf, rack

About this kanji

The kanji 「棚」 primarily means "shelf" or "rack." It is used as a noun and describes any type of flat storage surface where items can be placed. You will often encounter it in compounds like "本棚" (ほんだな), which means "bookshelf," and is a common term for furniture. Another example is "棚卸し" (たなおろし), meaning "inventory," referring to the process of counting and organizing stock. Additionally, there's "棚田" (たなど), which refers to "terraced rice fields." A useful note is that while "棚" refers to physical shelves, it can also metaphorically describe postponing decisions in phrases like "棚上げ," which means "to shelve a plan."

Built from

Example sentences

• 本を棚に戻してください。

  Please put the book back on the shelf.

Meanings across languages

English

shelf, rack

Tiếng Việt

kệ, giá

日本語

棚

한국어

선반, 랙

中文

架子, 架子

id

rak, tempat

th

ชั้นวาง, ราว

es

estante, estructura

fr

étagère, shelving

de

Regal, Gestell

pt

prateleira, suporte

Common compounds

• 本棚ほんだなbookshelf
• 棚卸したなおろしinventory, stocktaking
• 棚上げたなあげshelving (a plan or problem)
• 棚田たなどterraced rice fields