同居 vs 同棲: Living Together vs Romantic Cohabitation in Japanese

Yuka

Both 同居 and 同棲 describe living with someone — but there’s an important difference in Japanese!

同居: Living Together (Broadly)

同居 (doukyo) simply means living in the same house. It can refer to any living arrangement — parents and children, roommates, extended family — without romantic connotation:

• 両親と同居している。 — I live with my parents.
• 祖父母と同居することになった。 — We’re going to live with my grandparents.
• 友人と同居している。 — I’m living with a friend.

同棲: Romantic Cohabitation

同棲 (dousei) specifically means an unmarried romantic couple living together. It implies a romantic relationship:

• 彼氏と同棲している。 — I’m living with my boyfriend.
• 同棲を始めて3年になる。 — We’ve been living together for 3 years.
• 結婚前に同棲するカップルが増えた。 — More couples are cohabiting before marriage.

Rei

So if I say 同居 about my partner, would that sound strange?

Yuka

It wouldn’t be wrong, but 同棲 is the natural word for romantic cohabitation. 同居 for a partner might sound overly formal or ambiguous.

Comparison

Quick Quiz

Which word would you use when talking about moving in with your girlfriend?

• a) 同居
• b) 同棲

Answer: b) 同棲 — the natural term for romantic cohabitation.

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