百貨店

1. Origins, structure, and basic meaning

• Structure: 百貨店(ひゃっかてん) means a department store selling different kinds of goods in separate departments.
• Basic usage: It is used for a place to buy gifts or when describing the building's facilities.

2. Common pitfalls and similar expressions

• The small っ
  • 百貨店 is read ひゃっかてん; the small っ marks a brief closure before the following consonant.
• Who the gift is for
  • 父への贈り物 means a gift for one's father. への links the intended recipient to the noun.