noun
food cart; street stall; stand
The everyday meaning: a small temporary or movable stall, especially one selling food at night, at festivals, or on the street.
See also: 屋台店
祭りの屋台で焼きそばを買った。
I bought yakisoba at a festival stall.
駅前にラーメンの屋台が出ていた。
There was a ramen cart set up in front of the station.
noun
festival float; portable shrine-like float; dancing platform
Traditional festival use. Depending on the region and festival, 屋台 can mean a decorated float, a house-shaped portable shrine structure, or a platform used for dancing or performance.
See also: 踊り屋台
祭りでは、豪華な屋台を町内で引き回す。
At the festival, they pull the ornate floats around the neighborhood.
踊り屋台の上で子どもたちが踊った。
The children danced on the festival dancing platform.
noun
large building-shaped stage prop
Theatrical stagecraft term for a prop or set piece fashioned after a large building. This is not the everyday food-stall meaning.
大道具係が、城をかたどった屋台を舞台に据えた。
The stagehands set a large castle-shaped prop on the stage.
noun
Abbreviated use of 屋台骨, referring to the structural framework or foundation of a building. Limited compared with the full form 屋台骨.
See also: 屋台骨
「屋台骨」の略として、「屋台」が建物の骨組みを指すことがある。
As an abbreviation of 屋台骨, 屋台 can refer to a building's framework.
noun
small shabby house
Archaic use for a house, especially a small or miserable one. It is not a normal modern word for a house.
古い文章では、「屋台」が粗末な小さい家を指すことがある。
In older writing, 屋台 can refer to a small shabby house.
Means an open-air stall or street stall in general; 屋台 often suggests a small food stall, cart, or festival stall.
Often means a temporary booth or stall at an event; 屋台 is more strongly associated with food stalls and movable street carts.
A standard word for a festival float; 屋台 can also mean a festival float in some traditions, but it has other meanings such as food cart.
A portable shrine carried in festivals; 屋台 may refer to a shrine-like festival structure, but 神輿 is specifically the sacred portable shrine.
The spelling 屋台 combines 屋, associated with houses or shops, and 台, associated with stands, bases, or platforms. This explains the modern spelling semantically; the exact historical development of all senses is not specified.