roommate

English

Etymology

From room +‎ -mate.

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈɹu(m)ˌmeɪt/

• Audio (General Australian):

  (file)

Noun

roommate (plural roommates)

1. A person with whom one shares a room, as in a dormitory, barracks, rooming house, or apartment.
2. (US, Australia, New Zealand, Philippines, Canada) A person sharing the same home albeit not the same room (but generally not a family member or spouse).

   Synonym: (Australia) sharemate

   Hyponyms: flatmate, housemate

   • 2016, “Learning English (public domain)”, in (Please provide the book title or journal name)‎^[1], archived from the original on 18 September 2017:

     I live with Marsha. We’re roommates.

     Audio (US):

     (file)

3. (LGBTQ slang, humorous, ironic) A same-sex significant other with whom one lives; a coinhabitant in a non-heterosexual relationship.

Synonyms

• (informal) roomie
• (UK) flatmate, housemate

Derived terms

• roommatehood

Related terms

• room and board

Descendants

• → Japanese: ルームメイト (rūmumeito)
• → Japanese: ルームメート (rūmumēto)
• → Korean: 룸메이트 (rummeiteu)

Translations

a person with whom one shares a room

• Arabic: رَفِيق السَّكَن m (rafīq as-sakan)
• Armenian: սենյակակից (hy) (senyakakicʻ)
• Bulgarian: съквартирант m (sǎkvartirant)
• Catalan: company d'habitació m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 室友 (zh) (shìyǒu), 同屋 (zh) (tóngwū)

• Czech: spolubydlící m
• Dutch: kamergenoot (nl) m
• Esperanto: samĉambro
• Estonian: toakaaslane (et), toanaaber (et)
• Finnish: huonetoveri, huonekaveri
• French: camarade de chambre m or f, (dormitory) camarade de chambrée m or f, copiaule (fr) m, cothurne (fr)
• Georgian: please add this translation if you can
• German: Mitbewohner (de) m, Mitbewohnerin (de) f, Zimmergenosse (de) m, Zimmergenossin (de) f, Zimmerkollege (de) m, Zimmerkollegin (de) f
• Greek: συγκάτοικος (el) m or f (sygkátoikos)
• Hebrew: שׁוּתָּף (he) m (shutáf), שׁוּתָּפָה f (shutafá), שׁוּתָּפִים m pl (shutafím), שׁוּתָּפוֹת (shutafót)
• Hungarian: szobatárs (hu)
• Ido: kunvivanto (io)
• Irish: comrádaí seomra m
• Italian: compagno di stanza m, coinquilina f
• Japanese: 同居人 (ja) (どうきょにん, dōkyonin), ルームメイト (ja) (rūmumēto); (informal) 部屋っ子 (へやっこ, heyakko)
• Korean: 동숙인 (dongsugin), 룸메이트 (ko) (rummeiteu)
• Latvian: istabas biedrs, istabas biedrs m, istabas biedrene f
• Lithuanian: please add this translation if you can
• Macedonian: ци́мер m (címer), ци́мерка f (címerka)
• Norwegian: romkamerat m
• Pannonian Rusyn: цимер m (cimer), цимерка f (cimerka)
• Persian: هم‌اتاقی (ham-otâqi)
• Polish: współlokator (pl) m, współlokatorka f
• Portuguese: companheiro de quarto, colega de quarto
• Russian: сосе́д по ко́мнате m (soséd po kómnate), сосе́дка по ко́мнате f (sosédka po kómnate), сожилец m (sožilec), сожилица f (sožilica)
• Spanish: compañero de cuarto m
• Swedish: rumskamrat (sv) c
• Thai: เพื่อนร่วมห้อง (pʉ̂ʉan-rûuam-hɔ̂ng)
• Turkish: oda arkadaşı
• Urdu: ہم کمرہ (ham kamra), ہم اطاق (ham utāq)
• Vietnamese: bạn cùng phòng

US: with whom one shares an apartment or house

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 室友 (zh) (shìyǒu), 同屋 (zh) (tóngwū)

• Dutch: huisgenoot (nl) m
• Esperanto: kunloĝanto
• Finnish: asuintoveri; kämppäkaveri (fi) (informal)
• French: colocataire (fr) m or f, (familiar) coloc (fr) m or f
• Greek: συγκάτοικος (el) m or f (sygkátoikos)
• Hebrew: בֶּן בַּיִת (he) m (ben báyit)
• Hungarian: lakótárs (hu)
• Italian: coinquilino (it) m
• Japanese: 同居人 (ja) (どうきょにん, dōkyonin), ルームメイト (ja) (rūmumēto), ハウスメイト (hausumēto); (informal) 部屋っ子 (heyakko)
• Macedonian: ци́мер m (címer), ци́мерка f (címerka)
• Polish: współlokator (pl) m, współlokatorka f
• Portuguese: colocatário m, coabitante m
• Russian: сосе́д по кварти́ре/до́му m (soséd po kvartíre/dómu) сосе́дка по кварти́ре/до́му f (sosédka po kvartíre/dómu) (apartment/house)
• Serbo-Croatian: ци̏мер m
• Swedish: inneboende (sv) c, samboende c, sambo (sv) c
• Tibetan: ཤག་རོགས (shag rogs)
• Turkish: ev arkadaşı

See also

• boarder

 

Anagrams

• room meat