Meaning

Primary

City District

Alternatives

City Block, Chome

Word Type

suffix

Explanation

What's a street eye? Some kind of newfangled surveillance system? Actually, the eye kanji (目) is often used to mark something's position in a sequence, and that's what it's doing here. When do you position streets in a sequence? When you're planning out city districts and city blocks. Just imagine eyeing each of them one-by-one as you pore over a city map with your tired, bloodshot city planner eyes.

The 丁目 is one of the essential units Japanese cities are divided into. It's like a block or a neighborhood, but with an irregular shape and size. In English, it's often just written as chome.

Reading

ちょうめ
  • Kyoko
    (Tokyo accent, female)
  • Kenichi
    (Tokyo accent, male)

Explanation

The readings are the ones you learned with the kanji, so use those and you'll be A-OK.

Context

Pattern of Use

Common Word Combinations

  • 一丁目

    District 1, 1-chome

    二丁目

    District 2, 2-chome

    三丁目

    District 3, 3-chome

    何丁目

    what district, what block

Context Sentences

一丁目のコンビニはオープンしたばかりです。

The convenience store in District 1 has just opened.

田中さんのアパートは、三丁目です。

Tanaka-san's apartment is in District 3.

四丁目にはバスが来ないので、会社までは歩くしかありません。

The bus doesn't come to 4-chome, so you have no choice but to walk to the office.

Kanji Composition