Does トイレ refer to the British "toilet" or the American "toilet"?


I learned that トイレ is loaned from the English word "toilet".

However, in the US, toilet usually refers to the thing that you sit on when
you poop. And in the UK, toilet usually refers to the whole place where you
wash your hands _and_ poop.

Hopefully you know what I mean...

So which of the above does トイレ refer to?




When a word is loaned by another language, it is not always true that a loan
word has the exact same meaning as the original word. You have to know how it
is used in Japanese to know what it means in Japanese.

トイレ has both meanings. For example:

>   1. トイレに[行]{い}ってもいいですか? (Literally) Is it OK to go to the bathroom
> (restroom)?
>
>   2. トイレが[流]{なが}れません. The toilet doesn't flush.
>
>

It doesn't matter what the word _toilet_ means in English. What matters more
is what トイレ means in Japanese as it is a Japanese word.

As @DavidRicherby commented, the word _toilet_ generally means

In British English: both the room and the sanitary fixture.

In American English: Only the sanitary fixture and not the room.




When a word is loaned by another language, it is not always true that a loan
word has the exact same meaning as the original word. You have to know how it
is used in Japanese to know what it means in Japanese.

トイレ has both meanings. For example:

>   1. トイレに[行]{い}ってもいいですか? (Literally) Is it OK to go to the bathroom
> (restroom)?
>
>   2. トイレが[流]{なが}れません. The toilet doesn't flush.
>
>

It doesn't matter what the word _toilet_ means in English. What matters more
is what トイレ means in Japanese as it is a Japanese word.

As @DavidRicherby commented, the word _toilet_ generally means

In British English: both the room and the sanitary fixture.

In American English: Only the sanitary fixture and not the room.

