apartment

apartment和apart的词源: to the side, put aside, separate

An apartment (American English), or flat (British English, Indian English), is a self-contained housing unit (a type of residential real estate) that occupies only part of a building, generally on a single story. There are many names for these overall buildings. The housing tenure of apartments also varies considerably, from large-scale public housing, to owner occupancy (commonhold), to tenants renting from a private landlord.

Both "apartment" and "flat" refer to a self-contained residential unit with its own front door, kitchen, toilet, and bathroom. In some parts of the world, the word apartment refers to a purpose-built unit in a building, whereas the word flat means a converted unit in an older building, usually a big house. In other places the terms are interchangeable.

The term apartment is favored in North America (although in some cities flat is used for a unit which is part of a house containing two or three units, typically one to a floor). In the UK, the term apartment is more usual in professional real estate and architectural circles where otherwise the term flat is used commonly, but not exclusively, for an apartment on a single level (hence a 'flat' apartment).

In some countries, the word "unit" is a more general term referring to both apartments and rental business suites. The word 'unit' is generally used only in the context of a specific building; e.g., "This building has three units" or "I'm going to rent a unit in this building", but not "I'm going to rent a unit somewhere".

Some buildings can be characterized as 'mixed-use buildings', meaning part of the building is for commercial, business, or office use, usually on the first floor or first couple of floors, and one or more apartments are found in the rest of the building, usually on the upper floors.

In the United States, some apartment-dwellers own their units, either as a housing cooperative, in which the residents own shares of a corporation that owns the building or development; or in a condominium, whose residents own their apartments and share ownership of the public spaces.

In England and Wales, some flat owners own shares in the company that owns the freehold of the building as well as holding the flat under a lease. If you have the freehold of a building or piece of land, it is yours for life and there are no conditions regarding your ownership.

Apartment buildings are multi-story buildings where three or more residences are contained within one structure. Such a building may be called an apartment building, apartment complex, flat complex, block of flats, tower block, high-rise or, occasionally, mansion block (in British English), especially if it consists of many apartments for rent. A high-rise apartment building is commonly referred to as a residential tower, apartment tower, or block of flats in Australia.

The smallest self-contained apartments are referred to as studio, efficiency or bachelor apartments in the US and Canada, or studio flat in the UK. These units usually consist of a large single main room which acts as the living room, dining room and bedroom combined and usually also includes kitchen facilities, with a separate bathroom. In Korea, the term "one room" (wonroom) refers to a studio apartment.

A bedsit is a UK variant on single room accommodation: a bed-sitting room, probably without cooking facilities, with a shared bathroom.

Studio apartment in Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada, showing double bed, kitchenette, and entrance way with sliding door to closet.

Merriam-Webster defines a garden apartment in American English as "a multiple-unit low-rise dwelling having considerable lawn or garden space". The apartment buildings are often arranged around courtyards that are open at one end.

The Oxford English Dictionary defines the use of "garden flat" in British English as "a basement or ground-floor flat with a view of and access to a garden or lawn", although its citations acknowledge that the reference to a garden may be illusory.

"Duplex" refers to two separate units with a common demising wall or floor-ceiling assembly.

Loft apartments developed in North America during the middle of the 20th century. The term initially described a living space created within a former industrial building, usually 19th century. These large apartments found favor with artists and musicians wanting accommodation in large cities (New York for example) and is related to unused buildings in the decaying parts of such cities being occupied illegally by people squatting.

A penthouse is an apartment located on the top floor of a high-rise apartment building.

Apartments may be available for rent furnished, with furniture, or unfurnished into which a tenant moves in with his own furniture. Serviced apartments, intended to be convenient for shorter stays, include soft furnishings and kitchen utensils, and maid service. Laundry facilities may reside in a common area accessible to all building tenants, or each apartment may have its own facilities.

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