酒店 meaning in English

In mainland China today, 酒店 most often means a hotel, especially a larger or nicer one, and it appears in many hotel names. Example: 我们住在火车站旁边的酒店。(Wǒmen zhù zài huǒchēzhàn pángbiān de jiǔdiàn.) We are staying at the hotel next to the train station.

酒 (jiǔ) means alcohol and 店 (diàn) means shop, so a 酒店 started as a place that sells drinks. Picture an old inn where travelers drank, ate, and slept, and you have the modern hotel.

Common mistake: Learners often assume 酒店 means a bar or liquor store because of 酒, but in everyday mainland usage it usually means hotel. In Taiwan it can also mean a hostess club, so be careful using it there when you just mean a hotel.