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What does 居酒屋 mean in Japanese? Does it refer to any place that primarily
serves alcoholic beverages with less emphasis on food? Does it refer to what
English-speakers would refer to by the English word "izakaya", which is native
to Japan, typically has a small appetiser in place of a cover charge, and
sometimes has smoking allowed?

If there's a difference of meaning between current and past usage, or between
a technical definition versus everyday usage, please include that in the
answer.
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2016-09-13T08:32:05.517
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2016-09-14T03:04:30.273
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question
translation meaning
What does 居酒屋 mean in Japanese?
The _Izakaya_ is more of a mind-set than just one thing. At its most basic it
is a place that serves food and drink. The size can range from a single
counter and a single table or to something like a standard franchise
restaurant. They can have all the things you mentioned. Small portions, large
banquette size portions, anything goes. They allow smoking, or don't
(sometimes you get your own closed room for smoking), hey sometimes all the
rooms are closed and private, others are open and airy. My thought is that
there is no difference in the usage as there are places that have been around
for 100's of years and as mentioned it's such a broad word that it would be
hard to change its use.
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2016-09-13T08:43:11.957
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answer
What 居酒屋 refers to depends on the context.

In its broader sense, 居酒屋 includes any types of pubs, saloons, bars and the
like in the world where ordinary local adults _casually_ gather and enjoy
alcohol and food. Pubs are typically referred to as "British-style 居酒屋." Take
a look at [居酒屋 on Japanese
Wikipedia](https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%B1%85%E9%85%92%E5%B1%8B), and it
extensively explains how 居酒屋 look like and how they developed in European,
Arabian, or Asian countries.

In its narrower sense, however, 居酒屋 only refers to [so-called "Japanese
_izakaya_ "](http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2036_izakaya.html), which typically
serve _yakitori_ , _edamame_ , _tempura_ , _sashimi_ , etc., along with some
non-Japanese food like pizza. (Many 居酒屋 today are heavily influenced by
Western culture and are no longer equipped with _tatami_ or red _chōchin_.)
When Japanese people hear 居酒屋 without any context, they would have almost the
same thing as so-called "Japanese _izakaya_ " in mind.

There are many Western-style "pubs" in Japan (like [this](http://www.pub-
hub.com/)), too, and they mainly identify themselves as パブ, バル, 酒場, etc. We
often just say お店 instead of 居酒屋 to vaguely include everything; one can say
"来週の歓迎会で使う **お店** を探しておいて", and this お店 refers to everything from Japanese
_izakaya_ to Chinese restaurants to Hooters to beer gardens.
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2016-09-13T12:16:22.543
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answer