I see there are two words for building in Japanese, ビル and 建物【たてもの】. Can
someone tell me the difference and when I should use one or the other?
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2017-01-16T04:03:43.283
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question
word-choice
ビル (biru) or 建物 (tatemono) as a translation for 'building' in Japanese?
「[建物]{たてもの}」 (tatemono) is a neutral Japanese word for building. I found a
definition of "building" at [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Building
"Wikipedia"):

> a structure with a roof and walls standing more or less permanently in one
> place, such as a house or factory.

This applies to the Japanese word 「建物」.

On the other hand, the word 「ビル」 (biru), which obviously originates from the
English word "building," has a different meaning than English "building." I
think most Japanese people agree that 「ビル」 refers to a certain kind of
building, which are tall and have many floors, as in the image below (taken
from [Google Image
Search](https://www.google.com/search?q=%E3%83%93%E3%83%AB&espv=2&biw=1366&bih=662&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwi2gtS458XRAhUDmJQKHTeMADAQ_AUIBigB
"Google Image Search")).

[![ビル](https://i.stack.imgur.com/gITvO.jpg)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/gITvO.jpg)

* * *

So, if you are to imply that you are talking about this kind of buildings, use
「ビル」 (biru). Use 「建物」 (tatemono) in any other case.
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ビル is also used when writting building's name in addresses. For example it's
XYZビル if you live in アパート named XYZ. One does not use XYZ建物. On the other
hand, it's 建物を建てる (to build a building) and rarely ビルを建てる。
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2017-01-18T04:47:56.617
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According to the dictionary:

ビル: A medium or high building made of materials like reinforced concrete.  
たてもの: any construction made for people to live or to store things or for
people to work.

ビルディング(building)《「ビルヂング」とも》鉄筋コンクリートなどでつくった、中・高層の建物。ビル。  
<https://dictionary.goo.ne.jp/jn/188706/meaning/m0u/>

たてもの【建物】人が住んだり、物を入れたり、仕事をしたりするために建てたもの。建築物。  
[https://dictionary.goo.ne.jp/jn/137725/meaning/m0u/建物/](https://dictionary.goo.ne.jp/jn/137725/meaning/m0u/%E5%BB%BA%E7%89%A9/)
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