町 means “town”

まち · machi

Also: village, block, street

Kun'yomi (Japanese reading)

まち

On'yomi (Chinese reading)

チョウ

JLPT N4 · Taught in grade 1 · 7 strokes

The story

A rice field (田) with a boundary path (丁): Japanese towns grew around farmland, each 町 a patchwork of paddies and paths. Today the word evokes cozy shopping streets and tight-knit neighborhoods where everyone knows your name.

Used in 町人 (chounin, townspeople) and 下町 (shitamachi, old downtown area)

More from Society & Government

• 村 village
• 会 meeting
• 社 company
• 官 government official
• 軍 army
• 公 public
• 私 private
• 世 world
• 界 world
• 国 country
• 王 king
• 法 law

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