店員（てんいん、teniん）
- clerk

The Japanese word 店員 (てんいん) refers to a store clerk, shop assistant, salesperson, or any person who works in a retail establishment and assists customers. 店員's role generally involves helping customers, providing information about products, handling transactions, and maintaining the store. The term emphasizes the role as an employee working within a shop.

⚫︎その 店員 はとても親切でした。 Translation: That store clerk was very kind. ⚫︎新しい 店員 が入りました。 Translation: A new shop assistant joined the staff. ⚫︎ 店員 さんに商品の在庫について尋ねました。 Translation: I asked the store clerk about the product's stock.

You can use 店員 when you are referring to a person who works in a shop. It's suitable in various contexts, from casual conversations to formal situations. You can use it when you're talking about a particular person who works at the shop or in a general sense when referring to the employees of the shop. You might use it to describe someone's role or to ask for help from them.

The word is typically written with the kanji 店 (てん - shop) and 員 (いん - member, employee). The reading is usually written in hiragana as てんいん. There are no significant variations in the okurigana. The word can be used as a noun.

⚫︎ 販売員 (はんばいいん) - Salesperson ⚫︎ ショップ店員 (ショップてんいん) - Shop clerk (more informal) ⚫︎ 従業員 (じゅうぎょういん) - Employee (general term, can be used for any employee, not just retail) ⚫︎ スタッフ (sutaffu) - Staff (loanword from English)

There is not a direct antonym but can be used with: ⚫︎ 客 (きゃく) - Customer ⚫︎ お客様 (おきゃくさま) - Customer (more polite)

あの 店員 はいつも笑顔で接客しています。 ・Translation: That store clerk always serves customers with a smile. ・Explanation: This sentence describes the positive interaction a store clerk has with customers, highlighting their friendly demeanor.

何かお探しですか？ 店員 がお手伝いします。 ・Translation: Are you looking for anything? The clerk will help you. ・Explanation: This sentence shows the [店員]'s role of offering assistance to the customer.

The word is a combination of two kanji. 店 (てん) means "shop" or "store". 員 (いん) means "member" or "employee". Therefore, 店員 literally means "shop employee" or "shop staff". The combination of these characters creates the meaning of a store employee who works within a shop environment.