Translation guide
The opening or entrance to a room or building, including the surrounding frame. Japanese distinguishes between the physical entrance area, the door itself, and the threshold.
The physical opening or space where you enter or exit a room or building, often including the frame.
The bottom part of a doorway, the strip you step over.
The threshold, especially for sliding doors in Japanese rooms. Often a wooden beam.
Figurative use meaning an opportunity, a way in, or a transition point.
出入口 is the most general term for any entrance/exit opening. 戸口 is specifically the doorway of a traditional Japanese room with sliding doors. 玄関 refers to the entrance hall area inside a house or apartment, not just the opening.
ビルの出入口で待っています。
I'll wait at the building's doorway.
戸口に暖簾がかかっている。
A curtain hangs in the doorway.
玄関が広い家です。
It's a house with a spacious entrance doorway.
彼女は戸口に立って、入るのをためらっていた。
She stood in the doorway, hesitant to enter.
戸口 fits the image of a traditional or home setting.
General term for an entrance/exit opening. Used for doorways, gateways, etc. Neutral and widely applicable.
この出入口は非常時に使われます。
This doorway is used in emergencies.
Specifically the doorway of a Japanese-style room or house, often with a sliding door. Conveys a traditional feel.
彼は戸口に立っていた。
He was standing in the doorway.
The entrance hall or doorway area of a Japanese house or apartment, where shoes are removed. Refers to the space just inside the door.
玄関で靴を脱いでください。
Please take off your shoes at the doorway.
Entrance (as opposed to exit). Can refer to the doorway itself, but emphasizes the point of entry.
入り口はあちらです。
The doorway is over there.
敷居をまたいで部屋に入る。
Step over the threshold into the room.
The raised wooden threshold or step at the entrance of a Japanese house, where you step up from the genkan.
上がり框に腰掛けて靴を履いた。
I sat on the doorway step and put on my shoes.
Metaphorically, a gateway or starting point to something new.
この仕事は成功への入り口だ。
This job is a doorway to success.
Literally 'door', but used figuratively for a doorway to new possibilities, often in poetic or inspirational contexts.
未来への扉が開かれた。
A doorway to the future has opened.
English 'doorway' refers to the opening, not the door itself. In Japanese, ドア (doa) means the door panel. Use 出入口 or 戸口 for the opening. If you say ドアのところ (doa no tokoro), it means 'at the door', which can be ambiguous.
ドアのところに立たないでください。
Please don't stand in the doorway (literally 'at the door').
English 'doorway' refers to the opening, not the door itself. In Japanese, ドア (doa) means the door panel. Use 出入口 or 戸口 for the opening. If you say ドアのところ (doa no tokoro), it means 'at the door', which can be ambiguous.
ドアのところに立たないでください。
Please don't stand in the doorway (literally 'at the door').