ＭＡＲＣＨ

Freq.FrequencyTop 20,000

Meanings

MARCH (group of five private Tokyo universities)

Acronym for Meiji, Aoyama Gakuin, Rikkyo, Chuo, and Hosei universities; a well-known grouping of similarly ranked private universities in Tokyo, often referenced in discussions of university prestige and entrance exam difficulty.

彼かれはＭＡＲＣＨレベルの大だい学がくを目め指ざしている。
He is aiming for a university at the MARCH level.
ＭＡＲＣＨは東とう京きょうの有ゆう名めい私し立りつ大だい学がく群ぐんの一ひとつだ。
MARCH is one of the well-known groups of private universities in Tokyo.

Usage patterns

〈人ひと〉がＭＡＲＣＨに合格するがまーちにごうかくするfor someone to get accepted into a MARCH university
兄あにはＭＡＲＣＨの大だい学がくに合ごう格かくした。
My older brother got accepted into a MARCH university.
ＭＡＲＣＨレベルの大学まーちれべるのだいがくa university comparable in ranking to the MARCH group
彼かの女じょはＭＡＲＣＨレベルの大だい学がくを目め指ざしている。
She's aiming for a university on the same level as the MARCH group.

Don't confuse with

早そう慶けい
早慶 refers specifically to Waseda and Keio, a higher-ranked pair of universities, while ＭＡＲＣＨ groups five somewhat lower-ranked private Tokyo universities.
日にっ東とう駒こま専せん
日東駒専 refers to Nihon, Toyo, Komazawa, and Senshu universities, a group ranked below ＭＡＲＣＨ, so the two acronyms are easily confused as similar-sounding university tiers.

Written forms

ＭＡＲＣＨUsage22%
Acronym written in full-width Latin letters; standard in Japanese educational contexts.
マーチUsage78%
Katakana spelling; also used, but the Latin-letter form is more common.

Etymology

Acronym formed from the initial letters of Meiji, Aoyama Gakuin, Rikkyo, Chuo, and Hosei universities. The exact origin is uncertain, but it became popular in Japanese educational discourse.