Japanese Real Estate Jargon Decoder & SUUMO Explainer

Translate and decode Japanese listing terms. Explore interactive SUUMO-style rental sheets, floor plan symbols, and key money terminology with Affarah.

Reading a Japanese listing sheet

Japanese property listings compress a great deal into a dense grid of kanji, abbreviations and numbers. On portals such as SUUMO or HOME'S, the terms that decide your real cost — and whether you are eligible at all — are often the ones a newcomer skips. The decoder presents a listing sheet in the familiar layout and lets you click through it term by term.

Terms the decoder explains

• Layout codes such as 1R, 1K, 1DK, 1LDK and 2LDK, and what actually separates them.
• Money terms — shikikin (deposit), reikin (key money), kanrihi (management fee) and the renewal fee that lands in year two.
• Measurements, including the tatami mat unit for floor area and how it converts to square metres.
• Conditions and restrictions, from guarantor company requirements to clauses on pets, instruments and sharing.
• Building details such as construction type, year built and earthquake standard, which affect both rent and insurance.

How it works

The sheet marks each significant field with a hotspot. Select one and the explanation appears in English, with the Japanese term alongside so you can recognise it on any portal afterwards. You can also search for a term directly, or filter by category when you want to read through one group at a time.

Once you can read the sheet

Knowing what reikin means is useful; knowing what it does to your total is more useful. Put the numbers from a real listing into the move-in cost calculator to see the full amount due before handover, and read the step-by-step renting guide for how the process unfolds from first enquiry to key handover.