会社（かいしゃ、kaisha）
- company

The Japanese word 会社 means "company" or "corporation" in English. It refers to a business organization formed to earn profit. 会社 can encompass a wide variety of businesses, from small local businesses to large multinational corporations. It’s a fundamental word in the Japanese language, essential for discussing work, business, and economics.

⚫︎株式会社 Translation: Kabushiki-kaisha (stock company/corporation) ⚫︎あの会社 Translation: That company ⚫︎新しい会社に入った。 Translation: I joined a new company.

You use 会社 when talking about where someone works, the business they are involved in, or business-related matters in general. It's a very common word in everyday conversations, business meetings, and news reports. You can use it in both formal and informal settings, although the specific context of your language will change depending on your audience.

⚫︎The word is primarily written using the kanji 会社. ⚫︎The reading is written in hiragana as かいしゃ. ⚫︎It is not typically written in katakana. ⚫︎There are no variations in okurigana for this word.

⚫︎企業 (きぎょう): Enterprise, corporation ⚫︎事業体 (じぎょうたい): Business entity

There aren't direct antonyms for 会社 in the same way as words like "hot" and "cold." However, you could consider words related to unemployment or being self-employed as indirect opposites. ⚫︎失業 (しつぎょう): Unemployment ⚫︎自営業 (じえいぎょう): Self-employment

私は、あの会社で働いています。 ・Translation: I work at that company. ・Explanation: This sentence simply states where the speaker is employed.

新しい会社は、とてもいい雰囲気です。 ・Translation: The new company has a very nice atmosphere. ・Explanation: This sentence describes the environment of a new workplace.

The kanji 会 (kai) means "meeting," "association," or "gathering." The kanji 社 (sha) means "company," "shrine," or "society." Therefore, 会社 literally means "a meeting of companies" or "corporate association," reflecting the organizational structure.