とし
toshibig city
The main word for a large city in hiragana is とし (toshi). まち (machi) is a town or the busy part of a place, and し (shi) is the official city status that follows a name, as in おおさかし (Ōsaka shi).
Meaning: city or town (noun)
Ways to say it
| Japanese | Romanization | Note |
|---|---|---|
| とし | toshi | big city |
| まち | machi | town |
| し | shi | administrative city |
To say you go to the city center, many speakers say まちにいく (machi ni iku).
Which one should you use?
とし sounds like a big, modern city. まち is warmer and smaller, and also means the streets people walk through. し is attached to the city name in addresses and cannot stand alone as the everyday word.
Did you know?
- The same character 市 is read し (shi) in city names and いち (ichi) in the word for a market.
Examples in context
- とうきょうはおおきなとしです。Tōkyō wa ōkina toshi desu.Tokyo is a big city.
- かいものにまちへいきます。Kaimono ni machi e ikimasu.I go to town to shop.
Example conversation
Aya and Ken talk about where to go on Saturday.
- Ayaどようびはどこにいく。Doyōbi wa doko ni iku.Where shall we go on Saturday.
- Kenまちでえいがをみよう。Machi de eiga o miyō.Let's see a movie in town.
- Ayaいいね。Ii ne.Sounds good.
