1K, 2LDK, 4SLDK+LOFT… what do these code-words actually mean?

You may have noticed that on our website and our social media platforms we make use of certain terms including these letters:

• S, L, D, K… and so on…

But what do they actually mean/stand for? Let’s break it down…

These letters come in a specific order following a number (usually between 1 and 4) and are used to describe the layout or floor-plan of a unit, house, or space. In Japan, real estate agents often tend to use English letters as an acronym or code as a standardised classification system in order to quickly and clearly indicate the number of rooms, the presence of specific spaces, and overall layout. (Plus it saves a lot of space on the property information document!)

#: The number stands for the amount of rooms or living spaces.
L: Stands for Living, or Living space (this could refer to a living room or a bedroom)
D: Stands for Dining, or Dining room
K: Stands for Kitchen (these are pretty self-explanatory…)

The placement of the number before a or a series of letters also indicates whether the property information is describing a single-unit apartment within a commercial apartment complex, or the layout of rooms in a residential home. Once you understand these codes you may not even have to look at a floor-plan to know which is which…

For example: “1K” directly means… 1 Room, Kitchen, which would typically refer to a one-room apartment (you wouldn’t have a house with 1 room and a kitchen).

Whilst something like: “2LDK”, which directly translates to… 2 Bedrooms/Living spaces, Living, Dining, Kitchen, which is most commonly referring to a house (or large unit) that has 2 “bed-rooms”, a separate living room, a dining room, and a kitchen.

To recap… a “2LDK” floor-plan means it has 2 Bedrooms/Living spaces, Living, a Dining room, and a Kitchen.
And a “1K” floor-plan would mean it is 1 Room, with a Kitchen.

Editors note:

Sometimes, English letters could even be used as an acronym for the material that the building was constructed with i.e. C – for Concrete, S – for Steel, or RC – for Reinforced Concrete… but these are pretty straight-forward!