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村長 (sonchou) Japanese meaning: village headman | Kotomora

村そん長ちょう

also: むらおさ

そ

ん

ちょ

う

Common word›Freq.FrequencyTop 20,000

Meanings

1

village headman; village mayor

The elected or appointed leader of a village. In modern Japan, 村長 is an official local government position.

彼かれは村そん長ちょうに選えらばれた。

He was elected village mayor.

村そん長ちょうが新あたらしい橋はしの建けん設せつを発はっ表ぴょうした。

The village headman announced the construction of a new bridge.

Usage patterns

〈人ひと〉が村そん長ちょうになるfor someone to become village headman/mayor
彼かれは選せん挙きょに当とう選せんして村そん長ちょうになった。
He won the election and became the village mayor.
村そん長ちょうを務つとめるto serve as village headman/mayor
彼かの女じょは十じゅう年ねん間かん村そん長ちょうを務つとめた。
She served as village mayor for ten years.
村そん長ちょうに選えらばれるto be elected as village headman/mayor
彼かれは住じゅう民みん投とう票ひょうで村そん長ちょうに選えらばれた。
He was elected village mayor by a resident vote.

Kanji

村village, town
長long, leader, superior

Related words

町ちょう長ちょう
町長 is the mayor of a town (町), while 村長 is the head of a village (村).
市し長ちょうN1
市長 is the mayor of a city (市), a larger administrative unit than a village governed by 村長.
首しゅ長ちょう
首長 is a general term for the head of any local government body (city, town, or village), while 村長 specifically means the head of a village.
区く長ちょう
村長 is the head of a village, while 区長 is the head of a ward within a city or special ward system.

Don't confuse with

村むら人びと
村長 is the head or mayor of a village, a leadership position, whereas 村人 is simply any ordinary resident of the village.
市し長ちょうN1
市長 is the mayor of a city, while 村長 is the head of a village (村); both are local leaders but for different sizes of municipality.

Word family

市し長ちょう村そん長ちょう選せん挙きょ
mayoral election

Written forms

村長Usage100%
- そんちょう
  Standard kanji spelling; the most common reading is そんちょう.
- むらおさ
  Rare reading; may appear in historical or literary contexts.
むらおさ

Etymology

Compound of 村 (village) and 長 (head, chief). The reading そんちょう is the standard Sino-Japanese reading; むらおさ uses the native Japanese reading for 村 and an older reading for 長.