A small rural settlement, often with a traditional or agricultural character.
山のふもとに小さな里がある。
There is a small village at the foot of the mountain.
Refers to the countryside in contrast to the city; often carries a nostalgic or rustic nuance.
都会を離れて里で暮らしたい。
I want to leave the city and live in the countryside.
Only when written 里
Used for one's hometown or the home of one's parents; also extends to one's upbringing or background. Sense 4 (origins/upbringing) is a figurative extension, often seen in phrases like お里が知れる.
お盆には里へ帰るつもりです。
I plan to go back to my hometown for Obon.
I plan to go back to my hometown for New Year's.
彼の話し方でお里が知れる。
His way of speaking reveals his upbringing.
祖父は今も里で暮らしている。
My grandfather still lives in the countryside.
He left his hometown at eighteen and went to the city.
故郷 is the standard, neutral word for one's hometown, whereas 里 carries a more literary or nostalgic tone and can also refer to a village or the countryside in general.
村 is the plain, administrative word for a village, while 里 emphasizes the rural, homely character of a small settlement.
里 is an older, more literary word for one's parental home, traditionally used when a married woman speaks of returning there, whereas 実家 is the neutral, everyday term anyone uses.
都会 means 'the city', the direct opposite of 里 in its sense of rural countryside.
里 read as り is the old distance/area unit, while 里 read as さと (same kanji) means 'village' or 'hometown'.
里 (meaning 'village' or 'hometown') is visually similar to 裏 but has an entirely unrelated meaning, so learners sometimes mix up the two kanji.
foster parent · pet caretaker; pet foster parent
foster child · adopted animal; foster pet
satoyama; managed woodland near villages · satoyama settlement pattern
mountain hamlet; mountain village
human habitation; village; settlement
taro; dasheen; eddo
one's parents' home; family home · one's origins; one's upbringing; one's background
hidden village; isolated village · legendary hidden land; Shangri-La
villager; village folk; countryfolk
Standard kanji for village, countryside, and hometown senses.
Alternate kanji for village/countryside, less common than 里.
Kana spelling used when the kanji is not needed or in children's materials.
Native Japanese word. The kanji 里 originally depicted a field and a dwelling, representing a village or rural area. The reading さと is of native origin.
returning to one's parents' home; visiting one's hometown · bride's first visit home after marriage · return of an item; coming back · servant's temporary return home
village
village by the sea
red-light district
parents' home; family home
kanji 'village' radical
mountain village region; rural settlement area
homesickness; nostalgia for one's hometown
wife's family; wife's parents' home
village