Business Types in Japanese for Shops and Companies

Business Types in Japanese can look simple at first, until one tiny word sends you into “wait, is this a shop, a company, or a whole legal entity?” territory. Japanese loves neat labels for business types, and once you learn the core words, reading signs, websites, and company profiles gets much easier.

This guide gives you the most useful business-type words in everyday Japanese, with Kanji, Rōmaji, English meanings, and real example sentences. If you want a broader study path later, the main Japanese learning hub is here: Learn Japanese. And yes, Japanese business vocabulary does enjoy making simple things sound slightly more official than necessary. Very on brand.

For a helpful reference on company structures in Japan, this boring-but-useful page is worth a look: company types in Japan.

Table of Contents

Core Business Type Words

These are the foundation words. Learn these first, and the rest becomes much less mysterious.

Kanji	Rōmaji	English Meaning	Example
会社	kaisha	company, business	この会社は大きいです。 kono kaisha wa ōkii desu. This company is big.
企業	kigyō	enterprise, corporation	大企業は駅の近くにあります。 daikigyō wa eki no chikaku ni arimasu. The big corporation is near the station.
店	mise	shop, store	この店は有名です。 kono mise wa yūmei desu. This shop is famous.
店舗	tenpo	store, outlet, shop location	新しい店舗が開きました。 atarashii tenpo ga hirakimashita. A new store opened.
法人	hōjin	corporation, legal entity	法人のお客様です。 hōjin no okyakusama desu. You are a corporate customer.
事業	jigyō	business, project, enterprise	新しい事業を始めます。 atarashii jigyō o hajimemasu. We will start a new business.
商店	shōten	small shop, store	商店街には小さい店が多いです。 shōtengai ni wa chīsai mise ga ōi desu. There are many small shops in the shopping street.
本社	honsha	head office, headquarters	本社は東京にあります。 honsha wa Tōkyō ni arimasu. The head office is in Tokyo.

Common Business Types And Shop Words

Japanese often describes a business by what it is, where it is, or how formal it sounds. Convenient? Yes. A tiny bit annoying? Also yes.

Kanji	Rōmaji	English Meaning	Example
個人商店	kojin shōten	independent small shop	個人商店でパンを買います。 kojin shōten de pan o kaimasu. I buy bread at the independent shop.
中小企業	chūshō kigyō	small and medium-sized business	中小企業を応援します。 chūshō kigyō o ōen shimasu. We support small and medium-sized businesses.
大企業	daikigyō	large company	大企業では会議が多いです。 daikigyō de wa kaigi ga ōi desu. Large companies have many meetings.
老舗	shinise	long-established shop	老舗の和菓子屋に行きました。 shinise no wagashiya ni ikimashita. I went to a long-established Japanese sweets shop.
専門店	senmonten	specialty shop	この店は靴の専門店です。 kono mise wa kutsu no senmonten desu. This shop is a shoe specialty store.
飲食店	inshokuten	restaurant, food and drink business	飲食店で働いています。 inshokuten de hataraite imasu. I work in a restaurant.
小売店	kōriten	retail shop	小売店は駅前にあります。 kōriten wa ekimae ni arimasu. The retail store is in front of the station.
コンビニ	konbini	convenience store	コンビニでコピーをしました。 konbini de kopī o shimashita. I made copies at the convenience store.

Useful Phrases For Shops And Companies

These phrases show up in real life all the time, especially on signs, websites, and business cards. Learn the pattern, then reuse it like a sensible language adult.

Kanji	Rōmaji	English Meaning	Example
会社を設立する	kaisha o setsuritsu suru	to establish a company	去年、会社を設立しました。 kyonen, kaisha o setsuritsu shimashita. Last year, I established a company.
店を開く	mise o hiraku	to open a shop	彼は京都で店を開きました。 kare wa Kyōto de mise o hirakimashita. He opened a shop in Kyoto.
店を閉める	mise o shimeru	to close a shop	その店は夜に閉めます。 sono mise wa yoru ni shimemasu. That shop closes at night.
事業を始める	jigyō o hajimeru	to start a business	父は新しい事業を始めました。 chichi wa atarashii jigyō o hajimemashita. My father started a new business.
事業を拡大する	jigyō o kakudai suru	to expand a business	この会社は海外で事業を拡大しています。 kono kaisha wa kaigai de jigyō o kakudai shite imasu. This company is expanding overseas.
店舗数	tenposū	number of stores	店舗数が増えました。 tenposū ga fuemashita. The number of stores increased.
本店	honten	main shop, flagship store	本店は大阪にあります。 honten wa Ōsaka ni arimasu. The main store is in Osaka.
支店	shiten	branch office, branch store	支店で予約できます。 shiten de yoyaku dekimasu. You can make a reservation at the branch.
法人向け	hōjin-muke	for corporations, business-to-business	法人向けサービスがあります。 hōjin-muke sābisu ga arimasu. There are services for corporations.
個人向け	kojin-muke	for individuals, consumer-focused	個人向けプランを選びます。 kojin-muke puran o erabimasu. I choose an individual plan.

Business Type Words By Company Structure

Some Japanese words describe the legal or formal structure of a business. These appear in documents, websites, and company names, so they are worth knowing even if you are not planning to become the next mighty emperor of stationery.

Kanji	Rōmaji	English Meaning	Example
株式会社	kabushiki gaisha	joint-stock company, corporation	株式会社で働いています。 kabushiki gaisha de hataraite imasu. I work at a corporation.
有限会社	yūgen gaisha	limited company	有限会社は今でも見かけます。 yūgen gaisha wa ima demo mikakemasu. You can still see limited companies now.
合同会社	gōdō gaisha	limited liability company, LLC	合同会社を作りました。 gōdō gaisha o tsukurimashita. I formed an LLC.
個人事業	kojin jigyō	sole proprietorship, individual business	個人事業として働いています。 kojin jigyō to shite hataraite imasu. I work as a sole proprietor.
自営業	jiei gyō	self-employment	母は自営業です。 haha wa jieigyō desu. My mother is self-employed.
法人登記	hōjin tōki	corporate registration	法人登記を確認しました。 hōjin tōki o kakunin shimashita. I checked the corporate registration.
支店	shiten	branch	支店は全国にあります。 shiten wa zenkoku ni arimasu. The branches are nationwide.
本社	honsha	head office	本社に電話します。 honsha ni denwa shimasu. I will call the head office.

Useful Nuance: 店, 店舗, And 商店

These three can be confusing because they all point to “a place that sells things.” Japanese, naturally, refuses to keep this too easy.

Word	Rōmaji	Feel	Typical Use
店	mise	most common, everyday	general shop, store, restaurant
店舗	tenpo	slightly formal	store location, outlet, business listing
商店	shōten	old-fashioned or descriptive	small shop, traditional store, shopping street wording

Example:

この店は人気です。
kono mise wa ninki desu.
This shop is popular.

この店舗は駅の近くです。
kono tenpo wa eki no chikaku desu.
This store location is near the station.

昔ながらの商店が残っています。
mukashinagara no shōten ga nokotte imasu.
Traditional old-style shops remain.

Company Size And Business Scale

Japanese business language often talks about size. That matters in hiring, marketing, finance, and plain old office gossip.

Kanji	Rōmaji	English Meaning	Example
大企業	daikigyō	large company	大企業は福利厚生が充実しています。 daikigyō wa fukuri kōsei ga jūjitsu shite imasu. Large companies have good employee benefits.
中小企業	chūshō kigyō	small and medium-sized business	中小企業を支援します。 chūshō kigyō o shien shimasu. We support small and medium-sized businesses.
ベンチャー企業	benchā kigyō	startup, venture company	ベンチャー企業で働きたいです。 benchā kigyō de hatarakitai desu. I want to work at a startup.
零細企業	reisai kigyō	very small business	零細企業も大切です。 reisai kigyō mo taisetsu desu. Very small businesses are important too.
個人商店	kojin shōten	independent shop	個人商店は地域に根ざしています。 kojin shōten wa chiiki ni nezashite imasu. Independent shops are rooted in the community.

Real-Life Phrases You Will Actually See

These phrases are especially useful on signs, menus, websites, and business cards. They also help you guess what kind of place you are looking at before you walk in and accidentally order coffee in a law office.

Kanji	Rōmaji	English Meaning	Example
株式会社〇〇	kabushiki gaisha 〇〇	Company name with “Co., Ltd.” style form	株式会社さくらに応募しました。 kabushiki gaisha Sakura ni ōbo shimashita. I applied to Sakura Co., Ltd.
〇〇店	〇〇 ten	〇〇 store/branch	新宿店は大きいです。 Shinjuku ten wa ōkii desu. The Shinjuku branch is big.
本店営業部	honten eigyōbu	main store sales department	本店営業部に連絡します。 honten eigyōbu ni renraku shimasu. I will contact the main store sales department.
支店一覧	shiten ichiran	branch list	支店一覧を見ました。 shiten ichiran o mimashita. I looked at the branch list.
事業内容	jigyō naiyō	business contents, business activities	事業内容を確認してください。 jigyō naiyō o kakunin shite kudasai. Please check the business activities.
店舗情報	tenpo jōhō	store information	店舗情報はウェブサイトにあります。 tenpo jōhō wa uebusaito ni arimasu. The store information is on the website.
会社案内	kaisha annai	company information, company profile	会社案内を読みました。 kaisha annai o yomimashita. I read the company profile.
商号	shōgō	business name, trade name	商号を変更しました。 shōgō o henkō shimashita. The business name was changed.

Quick Grammar Pattern For Talking About A Business

A very common pattern is:

Pattern	Meaning	Example
〜の会社	a company of / company related to	ITの会社 IT no kaisha an IT company
〜の店	a shop for / shop selling	花の店 hana no mise a flower shop
〜向け	for ~	法人向けサービス hōjin-muke sābisu service for companies
〜店	branch/store of ~	東京店 Tōkyō ten Tokyo branch/store

Example sentences:

これはITの会社です。
kore wa IT no kaisha desu.
This is an IT company.

あれはパンの店です。
are wa pan no mise desu.
That is a bread shop.

このサービスは法人向けです。
kono sābisu wa hōjin-muke desu.
This service is for companies.

Common Mistakes And Fixes

Here are the traps that catch learners. They are small, but they are annoyingly effective.

Mistake	Better Choice	Why
店 for every business	会社 or 企業 when needed	店 usually means a shop or store, not a formal company.
会社 for every shop	店 or 店舗	A restaurant or retail store is often called 店 or 店舗.
企業 in casual speech all the time	会社	企業 sounds more formal or business-like.
本社 meaning any branch	支店	本社 is the head office, not a branch.
商店 in every modern context	店 or 店舗	商店 can sound old-fashioned or traditional.

Quick Reference Summary

会社
kaisha
company, business
企業
kigyō
enterprise, corporation
店
mise
shop, store
店舗
tenpo
store location, outlet
商店
shōten
small shop, traditional store
法人
hōjin
corporation, legal entity
事業
jigyō
business, project
本社
honsha
head office
支店
shiten
branch
個人事業
kojin jigyō
sole proprietorship
自営業
jieigyō
self-employment
株式会社
kabushiki gaisha
corporation
合同会社
gōdō gaisha
LLC
中小企業
chūshō kigyō
small and medium-sized business
大企業
daikigyō
large company

When in doubt, 会社 is your safe “company” word, 店 is your everyday “shop” word, and 店舗 is the more official version that likes business websites a little too much.

Once you learn these business-type words, Japanese signs and company names stop looking like a wall of formal mystery. You begin to spot the pattern: 会社 for company, 店 for shop, 支店 for branch, 本社 for head office. Small words, big payoff. That is the lovely little trick here.