Meet 町 in 町 and 町長. The examples connect each word’s reading with a useful context.

The idea

町 has 7 strokes; follow their order in the linked KanjiVG diagram. Learn 町（まち） and 町長（ちょうちょう） as complete words: a character’s reading depends on the word.

Patterns to compare
Japanese wordReadingExample in context
町まちI bought bread at a small shop in town.
町長ちょうちょうThe town mayor greeted the people who had gathered.
下町したまちI had lunch with a friend in the old downtown area.
町並みまちなみI walked slowly through the old streets.

Examples

  • 町まちの小ちいさな店みせでパンを買かいました。I bought bread at a small shop in town.
  • この町まちには古ふるい橋はしがあります。There is an old bridge in this town.
  • 古ふるい町並まちなみをゆっくり歩あるきました。I walked slowly through the old streets.
  • 下町したまちで友達ともだちと昼ひるご飯はんを食たべました。I had lunch with a friend in the old downtown area.
  • 町役場まちやくばで町まちの地図ちずをもらいました。I got a map of the town at the town office.
  • 町長ちょうちょうが集あつまった人ひとにあいさつしました。The town mayor greeted the people who had gathered.

Read-aloud uses a synthetic Japanese voice available on your device. Voice quality and availability vary; it does not assess your pronunciation.

Watch out

町 on its own is まち, while in 町長 it is ちょう. 下町 is a traditional urban neighbourhood, not simply any town to the south. Compare the shapes of 町 and 丁; they are different characters.

Try it yourself

  1. Write the reading of 町 in hiragana.

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    まち

    町 is read まち. In context: I bought bread at a small shop in town.

  2. Write the reading of 町長 in hiragana.

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    ちょうちょう

    町長 is read ちょうちょう. In context: The town mayor greeted the people who had gathered.

  3. Write the missing kanji: ＿（まち）.

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    町

    町 completes 町, read まち. In context: I bought bread at a small shop in town.

Use it today

Cover the table, write 町 from memory, read 町 and 町長 aloud, then make a sentence with one of them.