The kanji 屋 generally refers to a "house," "shop," "roof," or "building." It often implies a structure, place, or establishment where something is done or something can be found. It can denote both the physical structure itself and the function or activity associated with it.

・On-yomi (音読み): オク (oku) ・Kun-yomi (訓読み): や (ya)

⚫︎ 本屋 Translation: Bookstore ⚫︎ 八百屋 Translation: Greengrocer's (vegetable shop) ⚫︎ 部屋 Translation: Room

The kanji 屋 is a pictophonetic character. The top part 尸 (shī), is a simplified form of a radical which resembles a person sitting and indicates "house". The bottom part 土 (tǔ) which means "earth" or "ground", provides the phonetic element. The whole character indicates a "house" or "shelter" built on the ground, thus associating it with a place of dwelling or activity.