also: こおり
noun
Only with reading ぐん
Modern administrative unit below a prefecture (都道府県) and above a city/town/village. Often used in addresses and local government contexts.
彼は千葉県の郡に住んでいる。
He lives in a district in Chiba Prefecture.
郡の役所で手続きをした。
I completed the procedure at the county office.
noun
ritsuryō-period district
Historical administrative unit during the ritsuryō period, consisting of 2–20 neighborhoods or townships of about 50 homes each. The reading こおり is archaic and specific to this sense.
See also: 国郡里制
律令制では、郡は国と里の間に位置する行政単位だった。
Under the ritsuryō system, the district was an administrative unit between the province and the village.
noun
commandery (in China)
Historical Chinese administrative division, equivalent to a commandery. Used in historical contexts referring to ancient China.
漢代の郡は、県の上に置かれた行政区画である。
In the Han dynasty, the commandery was an administrative division above the county.
Archaic native Japanese reading for the historical ritsuryō-period district. Rarely used in modern Japanese.
The kanji 郡 has been used since ancient times to denote administrative districts in China and Japan. The reading ぐん is the Sino-Japanese on'yomi, while こおり is a native Japanese kun'yomi that survives only in historical contexts.