郡 means “county, district”

ぐん · gun

Kun'yomi (Japanese reading)

こおり

On'yomi (Chinese reading)

グン

JLPT N1 · Taught in grade 4 · 10 strokes

The story

A lord (君) beside the town mark (阝 on the right, from 邑): land a ruler governs. In Japanese addresses 郡 marks a rural district that holds towns and villages, and the city of 郡山 keeps the old reading of 郡, こおり.

Used in 郡 (gun, county/district), 郡部 (gunbu, rural districts), and 郡山 (kooriyama, Kōriyama)

More from Towns & Towers

• 郷 hometown
• 隣 next door
• 里 village
• 倉 warehouse
• 舎 building
• 丁 block
• 棟 ridgepole
• 舗 shop
• 荘 villa
• 壇 platform
• 架 span
• 廊 corridor

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Readings from KANJIDIC2, © EDRDG, CC BY-SA.