Japanese · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "町" in Japanese?

Q: How do you pronounce 町 in Japanese?

町 is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /ma.tɕi/. It means “town / city.” ma-chi, two short beats with a light affricate — much softer than English "match."

ma-chi, two short beats with a light affricate — much softer than English "match."

町 /ma.tɕi/

machi

The contour rises and holds, unaccented, across two units of identical length. It pairs neatly with 道 (michi), which differs only in its first vowel — another case where a single vowel carries the whole distinction between two common words.

Listen: 町

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Sound it out

ma An unforced lip closure, then a bright short a.

chi One affricate made with the tongue blade against the palate. Compared with the ch of English "cheese" it's further forward and pushes much less air; the i after it is short and tense.

Hear it in a sentence

この町はとても静かです。

Kono machi wa totemo shizuka desu.

This town is very quiet.

Listen: この町はとても静かです。

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この町はとても静かです has 静か (shi-zu-ka), whose opening shi can devoice, and とても with three flat beats. So the sentence moves from a clearly-voiced affricate through a possibly-whispered hiss without changing tempo at any point.

Where English speakers slip

"MAH-chee" stretches both vowels and stresses the first. Both are short here. The affricate also arrives too heavily from an English mouth — hold your hand up and you'll feel a strong puff on English ch that Japanese doesn't produce. Lighten it, and clip the vowel after it.