町家

Japanese

Etymology 1

Kanji in this term
まち
Grade: 1

Grade: 2
kun'yomi
Alternative spelling
町屋

Compound of (machi, town) +‎ (ya, family, household; house).[1][2][3]

Appears in texts from the late 1100s.[1]

Pronunciation

  • (Tokyo) ちや [màchíyá] (Heiban – [0])[2]
  • IPA(key): [ma̠t͡ɕija̠]

Noun

(まち)() • (machiya

  1. a traditional Japanese townhouse (historically, often a merchant's residence)
  2. a merchant household
Derived terms

Etymology 2

Kanji in this term
ちょう
Grade: 1

Grade: 2
goon kan'on

A coinage in Japan from Middle Chinese-derived roots, as a compound of (chō, town) +‎ (ka, family, household; house).

Appears in texts from the late 1700s.[1]

Pronunciation

Noun

(ちょう)() • (chōkaちやうか (tyauka)?

  1. a traditional Japanese townhouse (historically, often a merchant's residence)
  2. a merchant household
Usage notes

The machiya reading appears to be more common.

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 Shōgaku Tosho (1988) 国語大辞典(新装版) [Unabridged Dictionary of Japanese (Revised Edition)] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN
  3. ^ Matsumura, Akira, editor (1995), 大辞泉 [Daijisen] (in Japanese), First edition, Tokyo: Shogakukan, →ISBN

Further reading