4487
Something I have often stumbled on is the expression of "neighborhood" in
Japanese. For most uses I find that 近所 works well. However, this usually seems
to refer to a closer proximity than one would equate to the english
"neighborhood". When one describes a neighborhood of a city, for example,
Shibuya, Minowa or Ginza in Tokyo, it seems that 近所 doesn't really apply. In
the common English phrase, "What neighborhood do you live in?," I have yet to
find a suitable Japanese equivalent. I was suggested that 町 would work, though
the speaker told me this was perhaps a flawed translation as 町 has more of the
feeling of town.

example:

> I live in Minowa. Do you know that neighborhood?
>
> みのわに住んでいます。 みのわって町、知ってる？

So what word do you think is best in asking someone, "What neighborhood do you
live in?" Or if this question would be so rare in natural Japanese as to be
unnatural, why would this be the case?
CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-01-30T17:55:56.610
4485
2023-03-11T00:18:53.333
706
question
translation words
Expressing neighborhood in Japanese
I think `界隈【かいわい】` would work. It covers a wider area than `近所`.

For your reference, there is a phrase that expresses an even narrower area
than `近所`; that is, `向こう三軒両隣{さんげんりょうどなり}` "three houses across the street and
the houses on both sides" (1--5 in the following picture)

![向こう三軒両隣の図](https://i.stack.imgur.com/lctJs.png).
CC BY-SA 4.0
2012-01-30T18:14:16.203
4486
2023-03-11T00:18:53.333
2023-03-11T00:18:53.333
816
4485
answer
近辺（きんぺん）辺り（あたり）周辺（しゅうへん）～らへん・・・  
  
I live in Minowa. Do you know that neighborhood?  
みのわに住んでるの。その[辺]{へん}、知ってる？/その[辺]{あた}り、知ってる？  
みのわに住んでいます。その[周辺]{しゅうへん}を知っていますか？  
  
What neighborhood do you live in?  
「どの辺りに住んでるの？」「どの辺に住んでるの？」「どこら辺に住んでるの？」「家はどこら辺？」
CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-01-30T18:17:10.043
4487
2012-01-30T18:17:10.043
4485
answer