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I've grown accustomed to enunciating both 町 and 街 as まち in my head but it
turns out this may have been totally incorrect, as 三省堂｛さんせいど｝ lists two
possible pronunciations for
[町](http://www.sanseido.net/User/Dic/Index.aspx?TWords=%25u753a&st=1&DORDER=151617&DailyJJ=checkbox)
and only one (がい) for
[街](http://www.sanseido.net/User/Dic/Index.aspx?TWords=%E8%A1%97&st=1&DORDER=151617&DailyJJ=checkbox)
- even though IME returns まち as a 街 next to 町. It's clear-cut in constructs
like 町並み｛まちなみ｝ or 街道｛かいどう｝ (consult a dictionary - problem solved), but what
about meeting these Kanji by themselves?

This came to head as I tried speaking through this sentence:

> わたしたちの住んでいる街、冬木市｛ふゆきし｝は大きくわけて二つの町で構成｛こうせい｝される街だ。

There is no further context to see what the narrator meant by these things,
except that she goes on to describe the two 町 that 冬木市｛ふゆきし｝ is divided into.
Please help!

よろしくお願いします
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question
pronunciation
町｛ちょう｝、町｛まち｝、街｛がい｝、街｛まち｝ - how to pick the correct pronunciation?
The entry for 街【がい】 you linked to is:

> (尾) まちなみ． ▼繁華～

If you take a look at the
[explanation](http://www.sanseido.net/main/Dictionary/Hanrei/dailyJJ.aspx) for
the dictionary, we find what `(尾)` means:

> (尾) 接尾語

Ie, it is used at the end of words, and not in isolation. Other dictionaries
say

> がい【街】
>
> (造)
>
> ...

`(造)` means almost the same: used only to form words, but not in isolation.
「街灯」「商店街」「オフィス街」「地下街」「繁華街」「街路」

For 町, the same applies. 町【ちょう】 is used mostly within words. 「町会」「町議会」「町人」. [A
chō is also a unit for an area (~99.2m²) or for a distance (~109m).]

街【まち】 or 町【まち】※ is a word that can be used on its own.

Also, some dictionaries do list 街【まち】, ie. the
[デジタル大辞泉](http://dictionary.goo.ne.jp/leaf/jn2/208376/m1u/%E8%A1%97/).

* * *

But hold on, there's one more important class of words where you will
encounter these kanji.

**For place, names, there is no rule. You cannot know, unless you do know.**

Names could potentially be anything. There is common sense, there is a
tendency. And there are exceptions. Lots of them.

I ran some statistics on a database of Japanese place names (based upon ZIP
codes); and analyzed each place name whether the part before 町 consisted of on
or kun readings. This was done by a script, so there are some erros, but it
should give you the general idea. But note that

  * Names classified as _mix_ should often be split: 豊田町中村 → 豊田町 + 中村. 
  * Names classified as _unknown_ often use non-standard _kun_ readings or variations: 「富村【とびむら】」「馬喰町【ばくろうまち】」「小深町【こぶけちょう】」「轟町【とどろきちょう】」

# 町: 22350

**ちょう: 15348 (69%)**

  * kun: 7257 (47%) 「月見町【つきみちょう】」「萩原町【はぎわらちょう】」
  * on: 1594 (10%) 「愛光町【あいこうちょう】」「水明町【すいめいちょう】」
  * mix: 5348 (35%) 「瓦師町【かわらしちょう】」「嵯峨朝日町【さがあさひちょう】」
  * unknown 1149 (7%) 「尾上町【おのえちょう】」「西愛宕町【にしあたごちょう】」

**まち: 7002 (31%)**

  * kun: 3123 (45%) 「笹目町【ささめまち】」「暁町【あかつきまち】」
  * on: 578 (8%) 「和歌町【わかまち】」「海隣寺町【かいりんじまち】」
  * mix: 2854 (41%) 「宇津貫町【うつぬきまち】」「栄恵町【さかえまち】」
  * unknown: 447 (6%) 「廿里町【とどりまち】」「[下タ町]{したまち}」

**other: 1**

  * 半町 (大阪府【おおさかふ】 箕面市【みのおし】半町【はんじょ】)

ちょう is more common overall. _kun_ readings are more likely for place names
ending on 町, regardless of whether 町 is read まちor ちょう. There are many
exceptions.

And here's まち vs. ちょう by geographical location:

![enter image description here](https://i.stack.imgur.com/PdQ7q.png)

(zoomed-in: [1](https://i.stack.imgur.com/BFSgN.png),
[2](https://i.stack.imgur.com/1yoc0.png),
[3](https://i.stack.imgur.com/nEg0l.png),
[4](https://i.stack.imgur.com/9abbW.png))

There's a slight preference for one pronunciation in certain parts of Japan,
and there are some smaller local aggregations.

* * *

# 街

Not exactly common in place names.

**がい**

  * on: 4 ( 南街【なんがい】 , 銀南街【ぎんなんがい】 , 中央街【ちゅうおうがい】 , 新市街【しんしがい】 )
  * mix: 6 ( 中久著呂市街【なかくちょろしがい】 , 虹別市街【にじべつしがい】 , 磯分内市街【いそぶんないしがい】 , 長島町又木市街【ながしまちょうまたぎしがい】 , 長島町西外面市街【ながしまちょうにしどもしがい】 , 博多駅中央街【はかたえきちゅうおうがい】 )

**まち**

  * mix: 2 ( 河芸町杜【かわげちょうもり】の街【まち】 , 二見町光【ふたみちょうひかり】の街【まち】 )

**こうじ**

Apparently, this reading exists as well.

  * kun: 5 ( 桜街【さくらこうじ】 , 吸川街【すいかわこうじ】 , 下大槻街【しもおおつきこうじ】 , 広街【ひろこうじ】 , 上大槻街【かみおおつきこうじ】 )
  * on: 1 ( 十軒街【じゅっけんこうじ】 )

# 村

**むら**

  * kun: 105 「赤石村【あかいしむら】」「水橋中村【みずはしなかむら】」
  * on: 16 「福村【ふくむら】」「多伎町久村【たきちょうくむら】」
  * mix: 108 「栗沢町宮村【くりさわちょうみやむら】」「初瀬本村【はつせほんむら】」
  * unknown: 11 「散布村【ちりっぷむら】」「炊村【かしきむら】」

**そん**

  * on: 2 (本村【わきのさわほんそん】, 兵村【へいそん】, 南兵村【みなみへいそん】)

* * *

※ For the usage of the kanji, see for example
[文化庁＝＝「異字同訓」の漢字の使い分け](http://www.bunka.go.jp/kokugo_nihongo/syoiinkai/iinkai_06/pdf/shiryo_2.pdf)

> まち
>
> 【町】行政区画の一つ。人家が多く集まった地域。
>
> 町と村。町役場。町ぐるみの歓迎。下町。町へ買物に行く。町外れ。
>
> 【街】商店が並んだにぎやかな通り・地域。
>
> 街を吹く風。学生の街。街の明かりが恋しい。街の声。街角に立つ。
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answer