開始 vs 開設 vs 開業 vs 開店: Japanese Start, Launch, Open an Account, Start a Business, Open a Store, and Service Opening Words Explained

You sign up for a Japanese bank account and the confirmation email says 口座開設（こうざかいせつ）が完了しました. You visit a café in Tokyo and see a sign reading 開店（かいてん）10:00. A Japanese friend announces they quit their company job, and the news article calls it フリーランスとして開業（かいぎょう）. Then a streaming service sends a notification that a new feature will 開始（かいし） next week.

Four different announcements. Four different “open” or “start” words. And if you tried to swap any of them, a native speaker would immediately notice something was off. English tends to collapse all of these into “open” or “start,” but Japanese makes precise distinctions depending on what is being started and what kind of entity is coming into existence. Get these four words right and your Japanese — in service announcements, business emails, store visits, and banking — will sound genuinely natural.

This article explains all four: 開始（かいし）, 開設（かいせつ）, 開業（かいぎょう）, and 開店（かいてん）— with clear distinctions, real example sentences, and a decision flowchart so you always know which one to reach for.

Quick Answer — 開始 vs 開設 vs 開業 vs 開店

開始 means start or begin

開始（かいし）is the broadest and most general of the four words. It describes the beginning of an action, process, service, or period. When a streaming service launches a new feature, when a school term officially begins, when a sales period starts, or when a meeting kicks off — all of these use 開始. There is no implication of a new organization or physical place being created; what matters is that something was not happening before, and now it is.

開設 means set up or open an account or facility

開設（かいせつ）is for creating or establishing a new entity — something that now exists that did not before. That entity could be a bank account, a government consultation window, a company office, a website, or a YouTube channel. The key feature of 開設 is that the result is a structured thing that can be accessed, used, or returned to. You do not just 開設 an action — you 開設 a place or account that persists.

開業 means start a business or practice

開業（かいぎょう）is specifically about launching a commercial enterprise or professional practice as a business. This word applies when someone starts operating as a business owner, independent professional, or clinic: a doctor opening a medical practice, a freelancer formally starting self-employment, a sole proprietor registering their business. The connotation is that a person or company is now commercially active in a way they were not before.

開店 means open a store

開店（かいてん）is store-specific. It is used either for a new retail or food-service location opening for the first time, or — very commonly — for a store’s daily opening of its doors in the morning. If you see a sign that says 開店10:00, that means the store opens at 10:00 AM today. If you see 新規開店（しんきかいてん）, that means a brand-new store has just opened. Both uses involve a physical commercial space.

Why English speakers mix these up

English uses “open” and “start” almost interchangeably for all four of these situations. We say “open an account,” “start a business,” “open a store,” and “start a service” — the verb choice does not carry much information. In Japanese, each word is shaped by what category of thing is starting. An account being created is different from a service starting, which is different from a business launching, which is different from a store’s doors opening. Learning to think in these categories — rather than searching for the right Japanese equivalent of “open” — is the key shift.

Yuka

So if I want to say “I opened a bank account,” I should use 開設, not 開始?

Rei

Exactly. 口座を開設した is natural; 口座を開始した sounds strange because a bank account is not an action or process — it is a thing you create and then have. 開設 is the word for bringing a structured entity into existence.

What Does 開始 Mean?

開始 as general start

開始（かいし）combines 開（ひらく, to open）and 始（はじめる, to begin）— literally “opening the beginning.” As the most general of the four words, 開始 can describe virtually any kind of commencement: a process, a service, a period, an event, or a procedure. It often appears in formal or semi-formal announcements, schedules, and notifications. Because of its breadth, 開始 is the word to reach for when none of the more specific words (開設, 開業, 開店) applies.

サービス開始 / 受付開始 / 販売開始

The most frequently encountered forms of 開始 are noun compounds where 開始 follows the thing that is beginning:

• サービス開始（サービスかいし） — service launch; a product or digital service starting operations
• 受付開始（うけつけかいし） — registration/application opening; when sign-ups or inquiries officially begin
• 販売開始（はんばいかいし） — sales start; when a product goes on sale for the first time
• 授業開始（じゅぎょうかいし） — class/lesson start; when a school term or a specific lesson begins
• 会議開始（かいぎかいし） — meeting start; when a meeting officially begins
• 工事開始（こうじかいし） — construction start; when building work begins

開始する vs 始まる / 始める

It is worth understanding how 開始 relates to the more everyday verbs 始まる（はじまる）and 始める（はじめる）. All three describe starting something, but they differ in register and nuance:

• 始まる (intransitive) — “something starts” naturally or automatically; used in everyday speech. 映画が始まった。(The movie started.)
• 始める (transitive) — “someone starts something”; everyday speech. 勉強を始めた。(I started studying.)
• 開始する (transitive, formal) — “officially commence”; announcement language. サービスを開始する。(To officially launch the service.)

In conversation, you would say 映画が始まった not 映画が開始した. But in a press release, a company announcement, or an exam notice, 開始 is the expected register.

Common example sentences

新しいサービスの提供（ていきょう）を開始いたします。
We will begin providing our new service.

試験（しけん）の受付は来月（らいげつ）から開始します。
Exam registration will open from next month.

販売開始は午前10時の予定です。
Sales are scheduled to begin at 10:00 AM.

会議を開始します。よろしくお願いします。
We will now start the meeting. Thank you for joining.

アプリのベータ版（ばんばん）テストを開始しました。
We have started beta testing of the app.

What Does 開設 Mean?

開設 as setting up an account or facility

開設（かいせつ）is about creating something that will exist and be used going forward — a persistent entity rather than a process that simply begins. The character 設（もうける）means “to establish” or “to set up,” which clarifies the word’s core idea: you are not just starting an action, you are building something that will stand. This is why 開設 is the correct word when a bank account is created, an office is set up, a government counter is established, or a website is brought online.

口座開設 / サイト開設 / 事務所を開設する

The most common 開設 compounds you will encounter:

• 口座開設（こうざかいせつ） — bank account opening; the most common compound; appears on bank forms, online banking sign-up pages, and financial documents
• サイト開設（サイトかいせつ） — website launch; when a website is first created and made accessible
• 事務所を開設する（じむしょをかいせつする） — to set up an office; used when a company or law firm establishes a new office location
• 支店を開設する（してんをかいせつする） — to open a branch; when a company opens a new branch office
• チャンネル開設（チャンネルかいせつ） — channel creation; used on YouTube and social platforms when a content channel is created

相談窓口開設 / チャンネル開設

In the public and institutional domain, 開設 appears in government and organizational announcements:

• 相談窓口（そうだんまどぐち）を開設する — to set up a consultation counter or helpdesk; used when local governments or companies create a dedicated contact point for inquiries
• 電話相談窓口の開設（でんわそうだんまどぐちのかいせつ） — the establishment of a phone consultation service
• オフィスを開設する — to establish a new office location (multinational companies opening Japanese offices frequently use this phrase)

Notice that in all of these cases, the result is something that can be visited, accessed, or used repeatedly. That is the underlying logic of 開設 — you are building infrastructure, not just beginning a process.

Common example sentences

銀行口座を開設するには身分証（みぶんしょう）が必要です。
You need identification to open a bank account.

当社（とうしゃ）は大阪（おおさか）に新しい事務所を開設しました。
Our company has established a new office in Osaka.

市（し）は住民（じゅうみん）向けの相談窓口を開設しました。
The city has set up a consultation counter for residents.

YouTubeチャンネルを開設して日本語動画を投稿し始めました。
I launched a YouTube channel and started posting Japanese language videos.

ネットショップを開設するのに特別な許可は必要ですか？
Is any special permission required to set up an online shop?

What Does 開業 Mean?

開業 as starting a business or practice

開業（かいぎょう）is specifically about beginning to operate commercially — becoming a business. The character 業（ぎょう）means “work,” “trade,” or “industry,” and that is precisely what makes this word distinct: 開業 is for the moment when a person or organization starts operating as a commercial entity. A doctor leaving a hospital to open their own clinic 開業する. A freelance designer who registers their business 開業する. A chef who opens their own restaurant — from the business-establishment angle — 開業する.

Importantly, 開業 often carries a connotation of independence — moving from being employed to running one’s own enterprise. This makes it the natural word in discussions of self-employment, entrepreneurship, and professional practice.

フリーランスとして開業する / クリニックを開業する

Common 開業 patterns:

• フリーランスとして開業する — to start as a freelancer; formally launch self-employed work. This phrase is central to the world of Japanese freelancing.
• クリニックを開業する — to open a clinic; the standard phrase for a doctor or dentist starting their own practice
• 税理士事務所（ぜいりしじむしょ）を開業する — to open a tax accountant’s office; professional service firms use this phrasing
• 飲食店（いんしょくてん）を開業する — to launch a restaurant or food service business; note this focuses on the business establishment, not the daily door-opening
• 個人事業主（こじんじぎょうぬし）として開業する — to start as a sole proprietor; the formal self-employment framing

開業届 / 開業資金

Two important 開業 compound words appear frequently in business and tax contexts:

• 開業届（かいぎょうとどけ） — business start notification; the official form submitted to the tax office (税務署, ぜいむしょ) when starting self-employment in Japan. Submitting this document is the formal act of becoming a registered sole proprietor in Japan and is a prerequisite for filing as a青色申告（あおいろしんこく）taxpayer.
• 開業資金（かいぎょうしきん） — startup capital; the funds needed to launch a business. This phrase appears in business planning documents, loan applications, and financial advice for entrepreneurs.

Yuka

So if a friend opens a ramen shop, do I say they 開業した or 開店した?

Rei

Both can work, but they emphasize different things. 開業した focuses on the business side — they are now a business owner. 開店した focuses on the store itself opening. In everyday conversation, people often use 開業 when talking about the person becoming an entrepreneur, and 開店 when talking about the store as a place you can now visit.

Common example sentences

彼女（かのじょ）は会社を辞めてフリーランスとして開業した。
She quit her company job and launched a freelance business.

先生（せんせい）は都内（とない）でクリニックを開業する予定です。
The doctor plans to open a clinic in Tokyo.

開業届は事業（じぎょう）を始めてから1か月以内（いちかげついない）に提出する必要があります。
The business start notification must be submitted within one month of starting your business.

開業資金として500万円（ごひゃくまんえん）を準備しました。
I prepared 5 million yen as startup capital.

税理士（ぜいりし）として独立（どくりつ）し、事務所を開業しました。
I became independent as a tax accountant and opened my own office.

What Does 開店 Mean?

開店 as store opening (new or daily)

開店（かいてん）is the most concrete and physical of the four words. The character 店（みせ）means “store” or “shop,” so 開店 literally means “opening the store.” It covers two distinct situations:

• New store opening: a brand-new retail location, restaurant, or café opening its doors for the very first time
• Daily store opening: the regular morning opening of an existing store — what time the store opens each day

This dual use is what makes 開店 unique among the four words. A store that has been operating for 20 years still 開店 every morning. This everyday usage means 開店 is one of the most commonly encountered “start/open” words in daily Japanese life.

店を開店する / 新規開店 / 開店セール

Key 開店 compounds for new store openings:

• 新規開店（しんきかいてん） — grand opening; a brand-new store opening. You will see this on banners, flyers, and announcements when a new location opens.
• 開店セール（かいてんセール） — opening sale; the promotional discount event that accompanies a grand opening
• 開店祝い（かいてんいわい） — opening celebration; a gift or congratulatory gesture for a new store opening. This is a significant social custom in Japan — sending flower arrangements (花輪, はなわ) to new business openings is standard practice.
• 開店1周年（かいてんいちしゅうねん） — one-year anniversary since opening; stores often hold anniversary events using this phrase

開店時間 / 開店前

For the daily usage of 開店:

• 開店時間（かいてんじかん） — opening time; the time a store begins operations each day. Distinct from 営業時間（えいぎょうじかん）, which means total business hours.
• 開店前（かいてんまえ） — before opening; the time period before a store opens, often used in the phrase 開店前から並ぶ (to line up before the store opens)
• 開店直後（かいてんちょくご） — right after opening; immediately after the store opens its doors

A useful distinction: 開店時間 refers to the moment of opening (what time the doors open), while 営業時間 refers to the full span of business hours. If you want to know “when does the store open?”, ask 開店時間は何時ですか？. If you want to know “what are the store’s full business hours?”, ask 営業時間を教えてください。

Common example sentences

このカフェの開店時間は午前9時です。
This café opens at 9:00 AM.

新規開店を記念して特別セールを開催（かいさい）します。
We are holding a special sale to celebrate our grand opening.

開店前から多くのお客さまが並んでいました。
Many customers were already lining up before the store opened.

開店祝いにお花を贈（おく）りました。
I sent flowers as a store opening gift.

当店（とうてん）は本日（ほんじつ）より開店いたします。
Our store is opening today for the first time.

Pairwise Comparisons

開始 vs 開設 — start an action vs set up an entity

The clearest way to tell these apart is to ask: are we starting a process, or creating a thing?

• A subscription service starting → 開始（サービスを開始する）
• An account being created → 開設（口座を開設する）
• An exam application period opening → 開始（受付を開始する）
• A help desk being established → 開設（窓口を開設する）

If the thing being started is intangible and temporary (a service period, a registration window, a process), use 開始. If the result is something concrete and persistent that people can access or return to (an account, an office, a counter), use 開設.

開設 vs 開業 — set up facility/account vs start a business

Both words involve creating something new and persistent, but their domains differ significantly:

• 開設 — the thing being created is a facility, account, site, or channel. No business entity needs to be involved. Anyone can 開設 a bank account or a website.
• 開業 — the thing being created is a commercial enterprise or professional practice. The actor is specifically becoming a business. The focus is on the person or entity starting to operate commercially.

A law firm opening a new branch office in another city would 支店を開設する (set up a branch). But a lawyer leaving that firm to start their own practice would 独立して事務所を開業する (start their own practice independently). The difference is whether a new commercial enterprise is being formed, or just a new facility within an existing one.

開業 vs 開店 — business launch vs store opening

This is the pair most likely to overlap, especially for restaurants and retail businesses. The distinction is one of emphasis:

• 開業 — the business entity is starting; the person is becoming a business owner or operator. Focus: the entrepreneur and the enterprise.
• 開店 — the store’s physical doors are opening; the space is now accessible to customers. Focus: the store and its customers.

A newspaper article about a chef who left a Michelin-starred restaurant to launch his own restaurant would likely say 開業した (he started a business). A flyer announcing that the same restaurant is now open would say 開店しました (the store has opened). Both are valid descriptions of what happened; they just foreground different aspects of the event.

Also note: 開店 works for both new openings and daily opening. 開業 is only ever used for the launch of a new business — never for daily start-of-day operations.

開始 vs 開店 — general start vs store-specific open

These two are rarely confused in practice because their domains barely overlap, but the distinction is simple: 開始 can describe any kind of beginning, while 開店 is specifically and exclusively about physical store or restaurant locations. You would never say 会議が開店した (the meeting opened — store sense) or use 開始 to describe a store’s daily morning opening. The specificity of 店 in 開店 keeps the categories clearly separate.

Natural Collocations — What Goes with Each Word?

One of the most practical ways to internalize these four words is to learn the nouns that naturally pair with each one. Native speakers do not decide which verb to use by analyzing definitions — they recognize the collocation. The table below gives you the most important pairings:

Why you cannot always use 開く

A common instinct for English speakers is to reach for 開く（ひらく）— the everyday Japanese verb meaning “to open” — for all four of these situations. This works in a narrow range of cases but fails in most of them:

• 口座を開く — acceptable and understood, but 口座を開設する is more formal and standard in banking contexts
• 店を開く — natural for informal speech, but 開店する is the conventional phrasing in business contexts and announcements
• サービスを開く — this sounds unnatural; the correct phrasing is サービスを開始する
• 事業（じぎょう）を開く — very unusual; 開業する is the expected expression

As a general rule, 開く is fine for physical objects (ドアを開く, 窓を開く) and for certain idiomatic uses (会議を開く, 展覧会を開く). But for the four domains covered in this article — services, accounts/facilities, businesses, and stores — the specialized compound words are the natural choice and what you will encounter in written Japanese.

Common Mistakes English Speakers Make

Using 開始 for setting up an account (should be 開設)

This is the single most common error, because “start an account” or “open an account” in English both translate mentally to “start” → 開始 for many learners. But an account is not a process — it is an entity. The natural Japanese is:

❌ Wrong: 銀行口座を開始する
✅ Correct: 銀行口座を開設する
(To open a bank account.)

The same applies to websites, offices, and consultation services. Anything you are establishing as a persistent resource uses 開設, not 開始.

Using 開業 when talking about daily store opening hours (should be 開店)

Learners who have learned 開業 for “opening a business” sometimes try to apply it to daily store operations, especially when describing what time a shop opens. This does not work — 開業 describes the one-time event of starting a business, not the daily schedule:

❌ Wrong: このお店の開業時間は10時です。
✅ Correct: このお店の開店時間は10時です。
(This shop opens at 10 AM.)

Translating “open” as 開く in all contexts

As discussed above, 開く is too general for most business and service contexts. Using it universally will produce sentences that are understood but sound imprecise or childlike in formal situations. Build the habit of asking: is this a service starting (開始), an entity being created (開設), a business being launched (開業), or a store opening (開店)? That question will guide you to the right word nearly every time.

Confusing 開業届 (business registration) context

Some learners encounter 開業届 and, knowing that 届（とどけ）means “notification,” assume it is a general form for opening any kind of account or service. It is not. 開業届 is specifically the tax office notification form for starting self-employment in Japan. It is submitted to the 税務署（ぜいむしょ）and has nothing to do with bank account opening, business registration at the 法務局（ほうむきょく, Legal Affairs Bureau), or any other administrative process. Confusing these contexts can lead to misunderstandings when discussing Japanese administrative procedures.

Missing 開店時間 vs 営業時間 distinction

These two words are often used near each other and learners sometimes treat them as synonyms. They are not:

• 開店時間（かいてんじかん） — the specific time a store opens in the morning (e.g., 10:00)
• 営業時間（えいぎょうじかん） — the full range of business hours (e.g., 10:00–22:00)

If you ask a shop 「営業時間はいつですか？」you are asking for their full hours. If you ask 「開店時間はいつですか？」you are asking specifically when they open. Both are useful questions, but they are not interchangeable.

Decision Rule: Which Start/Open Word Should You Use?

Use this flowchart whenever you are unsure which word to reach for:

Is a physical store or restaurant opening?
  YES → Is it opening its daily doors (morning opening / hours)?
           YES → 開店（かいてん）
  YES → Is a brand-new location launching for the first time?
           YES → 開店（かいてん）or 開業（かいぎょう）
                    → Emphasizing the store as a place for customers? → 開店
                    → Emphasizing the person starting a business? → 開業

Is a commercial enterprise or professional practice being launched?
(doctor, freelancer, sole proprietor, clinic, law office)
  YES → 開業（かいぎょう）

Is an account, facility, office, website, or channel being created?
(something persistent that can be accessed or returned to)
  YES → 開設（かいせつ）

Is a service, process, event, or period beginning?
(something intangible — a service launch, a registration period, a meeting)
  YES → 開始（かいし）

Not sure? Ask: What is the RESULT?
  → A process happening → 開始
  → A persistent entity created → 開設
  → A business entity launched → 開業
  → A store's doors opening → 開店

Here is a summary comparison for quick reference:

Quick Quiz

Fill in each blank with the correct word: 開始, 開設, 開業, or 開店.

1. 「新しいサービスの提供を_____ いたします。」
(We will begin providing our new service.)

2. 「インターネットバンキングの利用には口座の_____ が必要です。」
(Opening an account is required to use internet banking.)

3. 「彼は医師免許（いしめんきょ）を取得後（しゅとくご）、都内でクリニックを_____ した。」
(After obtaining his medical license, he opened a clinic in Tokyo.)

4. 「このスーパーの_____ 時間は午前8時です。」
(This supermarket opens at 8:00 AM.)

5. 「フリーランスとして働くために_____ 届を税務署に提出しました。」
(I submitted the business start notification to the tax office to work as a freelancer.)

6. 「市は住民向けの相談窓口を_____ しました。」
(The city established a consultation counter for residents.)

Answers: 1. 開始  |  2. 開設  |  3. 開業  |  4. 開店  |  5. 開業  |  6. 開設

If you want to practice these vocabulary distinctions with a native speaker, italki connects you with Japanese tutors who can guide you through real service announcements, business documents, and everyday store signage where these four words appear naturally.

Which of these four “open” words do you encounter most in your Japanese studies or daily life? Leave a comment below — we would love to hear whether you found them on a bank form, a store sign, a business news article, or somewhere else entirely!

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