住まい（すまい、sumai）
- dwelling

The Japanese word 住まい住まい primarily means "dwelling," "residence," "home," or "place of living." It refers to the physical structure where someone lives, the place where they reside, and the concept of their home. It can encompass a house, apartment, or any other type of place used as a primary residence. It also carries a sense of the feeling of home and belonging.

⚫︎新しい住まい Translation: New dwelling/home ⚫︎私の住まいは東京です。 Translation: My home is in Tokyo. ⚫︎素敵な住まいですね！ Translation: What a lovely home!

⚫︎ Use 住まい住まい when talking about where someone lives. ⚫︎ It's applicable in both formal and informal contexts. ⚫︎ It is often used in conversations about houses, apartments, and the general concept of "home." ⚫︎ It can refer to a current residence or a past one.

⚫︎ The word 住まい住まい is typically written in hiragana as すまい. ⚫︎ The kanji form is 住まい住まい. ⚫︎ The kanji 住 (read as "su") means "to live" or "to reside." ⚫︎ The kanji ま is not used. Instead, the suffix "ai" is used to make this word a noun. ⚫︎ There are no variations in the okurigana.

⚫︎ 家 (ie) - house ⚫︎ 住宅 (juutaku) - housing, residence ⚫︎ 自宅 (jitaku) - one's own home ⚫︎ 住居 (juukyo) - dwelling, residence ⚫︎ お家 (ouchi) - home (more informal)

There aren't direct antonyms, but words that could be considered opposite in context: ⚫︎ 職場 (shokuba) - workplace ⚫︎ オフィス (ofisu) - office ⚫︎ 旅先 (tabisaki) - travel destination

彼女は新しい住まいを探しています。 ・Translation: She is looking for a new home. ・Explanation: This sentence uses 住まい to describe the place where she will live.

この住まいには、広い庭があります。 ・Translation: This home has a large garden. ・Explanation: This sentence uses 住まい to refer to the place with the garden.

The word 住まい住まい is derived from the verb 住む (sumu), meaning "to live" or "to reside." The "-ai" ending transforms the verb into a noun, creating the meaning of "dwelling" or "place of living."