What these terms even mean 1R, 1K, 1DK, 1LDK?

If you’ve ever experienced apartment hunting in Japan, I’m sure you’ve come across these terms. Let us explain what you can expect from each of these types of apartments.

1R

The R in these abbreviations stands for “room”. 1R is a one-room studio apartment. 1R apartments are usually between 13 to 20 square meters.

1K

K stands for “kitchen”. 1K is a one-room studio apartment, but the kitchen is separated from the room. These apartments are usually up to 25 square meters.

1DK

In 1DK the D stands for “dining”, which means it’s a two-room apartment with a kitchen and dining space that is separated from the other room. The usual size for 1DK is around 30 square meters.

1LDK

L stands for “living”, which makes 1LDK apartment a typical one-bedroom apartment with a dining room separated from the kitchen area. These apartments are usually around 35 square meters in size.

There are also 2LDK, where 2 stands for the number of bedrooms. Sometimes you can see 1SLDK, in this case, the S stands for “service room”. A service room is a room that doesn’t have enough sunlight or an air conditioner and can be used as a storage room.

These are the basic terms that you may see while looking for an apartment.