町・街|まちmachi[2]odaka (tail-high)

1. nountown; block; neighbourhood; neighborhoodesp. 町
   町まちが一面いちめんすっぽり雪ゆきをかぶった。↗

   Snow completely covered the town.
2. noundowntown; main street
   楽隊がくたいが町まちをパレードした。↗

   The band paraded the streets.
3. nounstreet; road

• SynonymタウンNeutralNeutral loanword used mostly in compounds, as in 「ニュータウン」 and 「タウン誌」.
• Related集落しゅうらくWrittenWritten word for a settlement or village formed where people live together; common in geography and sociology, and more rural in feel than 「町」.
• Related地区ちくNeutralNeutral word for a designated area or zone, as in 「住宅地区」; it stresses administrative or functional divisions rather than the town itself.
• Related部落ぶらくWrittenWritten word for a small hamlet within a village; because of its association with historically discriminated communities, use it with caution today.
• Related人里ひとざとWrittenWritten word for places where people live, as opposed to deep mountains or wilderness, as in 「人里離れた山奥」.
• Related村落そんらくWrittenWritten word for a village or hamlet; smaller in scale than 「町」.
• RelatedビレッジNeutralNeutral loanword used mostly in names of facilities and housing developments, as in 「〇〇ビレッジ」; for villages in general, say 「村」 or 「町」.
• Related村里むらざとWrittenLiterary written word for a village or the countryside, with a pastoral flavor.
• Related都邑とゆうWrittenArchaic written word for cities and towns; rare today, found mainly in historical studies.
• Related郷村ごうそんWrittenWritten word for the countryside; can also refer to medieval village communities.
• Related村庄そんしょうWrittenWritten word for a village or rural area; very rare in Japanese, and its usage differs from Chinese.
• Related集村しゅうそんWrittenGeography term for a rural settlement of clustered houses, the opposite of a dispersed one; in everyday use, say 「集落」 or 「村」.
• Antonym田舎いなかNeutralNeutral antonym of 「町」: the countryside or a rural area; also one's hometown.

For towns, blocks and downtown areas, 「町」 is the default. Use 「集落」 or 「村落」 for villages and settlements, 「地区」 for designated districts, 「人里」 for inhabited places, and 「ニュータウン」 for planned new towns. Most of the rest are rare written terms; 「田舎」 is the opposite, meaning the countryside.

Usage comparisons are AI-assisted and cross-checked by multiple models; for study reference only

1. （まち）集落しゅうらくで、村むらよりも規模きぼの大おおきいもの。一般的いっぱんてきに複数ふくすうの商業しょうぎょう設備せつびを有ゆうする。
2. （行政ぎょうせい まち又またはチョウ）地方公共団体ちほうこうきょうだんたいのひとつで、村むらより大規模だいきぼで、市しよりも小規模しょうきぼのもの。