Japanese kanji 庁: government offices and agencies

The idea

庁 has 5 strokes and the on-reading ちょう. Read 県庁（けんちょう）, 気象庁（きしょうちょう） and 庁舎（ちょうしゃ） as whole words; use the linked diagram for stroke order.

Examples

• 県庁けんちょうは駅えきの近ちかくです。The prefectural office is near the station.
• 気象庁きしょうちょうのサイトで天気予報てんきよほうを確認かくにんしました。I checked the weather forecast on the Meteorological Agency website.
• 警察庁けいさつちょうが統計とうけいを発表はっぴょうしました。The police agency published the statistics.
• 市役所しやくしょの庁舎ちょうしゃは今日きょう、閉しまっています。The city hall is closed today.
• 官庁かんちょうの受付うけつけで道みちを聞ききました。I asked for directions at the government office reception desk.
• 庁舎ちょうしゃは古ふるいですが、窓口まどぐちは利用りようしやすいです。The government office building is old, but the counter is easy to use.

Watch out

庁 refers to an administrative office or agency; 庁舎 is its building. Do not confuse 庁 with 店, which appears in words for shops.

Try it yourself

1. Write the reading of 県庁 in hiragana.

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   けんちょう

   県庁 is けんちょう, a prefectural government office. The 庁 part is ちょう.

2. Write the reading of 庁舎 in hiragana.

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   ちょうしゃ

   庁舎 is ちょうしゃ: it refers to an office building, not the agency itself.

3. Choose the missing kanji: 気象＿（きしょうちょう）［庁／店］.

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   庁

   庁 completes 気象庁（きしょうちょう）, the Meteorological Agency; 店 means a shop.

Use it today

Write 庁 using the diagram, then cover the readings and say 県庁 and 庁舎. Make a sentence about a public office.