局

• Reading: きょく
• Romaji: kyoku
• Kanji breakdown: 局 (kyoku) — office, bureau, station
• Pronunciation: /kʲo.kɯ/

Meaning

Office; bureau; station. An organizational unit or broadcasting station.

A noun and suffix with multiple uses. As a standalone word, it refers to offices or bureaus (郵便局 — post office). As a suffix, it denotes broadcasting stations (テレビ局 — TV station, ラジオ局 — radio station) or government departments. Also used in board games to mean 'a game' or 'situation' (局面 — aspect of a situation).

Examples

1. 近くの郵便局で荷物を送った。 I sent a package at the nearby post office.
2. 姉はテレビ局で働いている。 My older sister works at a TV station.
3. 薬局で風邪薬を買ってきて。 Go buy some cold medicine at the pharmacy.

Usage Guide

Context: daily life, media, government

Tone: neutral

Origin & History

The kanji 局 originally depicted a confined space or a bent body, evolving to mean a sectioned-off area or department. It came to represent enclosed administrative units and stations.

Cultural Context

Era: Modern

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal