Chinese

Proper noun

日本

1. Japan

   日本電視劇 / 日本电视剧  ―  Rìběn diànshìjù  ―  Japanese TV drama

Synonyms

• (official) 日本國／日本国 (Rìběnguó)

Derived terms

Descendants

Others (incomplete list)

• → Malay: Jepang, Jepun
  • Indonesian: Jepang
  • → Dutch: Japan
  • → Portuguese: Japão
    • → English: Japan
• → Tibetan: ཇི་བེན ‎(ji ben)

See also

• 日劇／日剧 (rìjù)
• 日語／日语 (Rìyǔ)
• 日劇／日剧 (rìjù)
• 日 (Rì) (abbreviation)

Japanese

Etymology 1

/nitipoɴ/ → /nippoɴ/ → /niɸoɴ/ → /nihoɴ/

Coined in Japan of Sinic elements, as compound of 日 ‎(nichi, “sun”) +‎ 本 ‎(hon, “origin”). The hon element was apparently pronounced /poɴ/ when first coined. Over time, the initial /p/ lenited, eventually becoming the /h/ sound in modern Japanese.^[1][2]

In older texts, this was read as kun'yomi as hi no moto. The on'yomi readings nippon and nihon became more common in the Heian period, with both persisting into modern use.^[2] The nihon reading appears to be the most common in everyday Japanese usage.^[3]

Pronunciation

• (Irregular reading)
• (Tokyo) にほ​ん [nìhóꜜǹ] (Nakadaka - [2])^[4][5]
• IPA^(key): [nihõ̞ɴ]

Proper noun

日本 ‎(hiragana にほん, romaji Nihon)

1. Japan
   • 1603–1604, Nippo Jisho (page 463)

     Nifon ニホン (日本) 日本.

Derived terms

• 日本人 (にほんじん, ​nihonjin): a Japanese person, Japanese people
• 日本語 (にほんご, ​nihongo): the Japanese language

Etymology 2

/nitpoɴ/ > /nippoɴ/

Pronunciation

• On'yomi: Goon
• (Tokyo) にっぽ​ん [nìppóꜜǹ] (Nakadaka - [3])^[4][5]
• IPA^(key): [nip̚põ̞ɴ]

Proper noun

日本 ‎(hiragana にっぽん, romaji Nippon)

1. Japan
   • 1603–1604, Nippo Jisho (page 466)

     Nippon ニッポン（日本） Fino moto. (日の本) 日本.

Etymology 3

/zitpon/ > /zippon/ > /d͡ʑippon/

/zit͡ɕi, zit͡su/ are the kan'on readings of 日, as compared to the goon reading /nit͡ɕi/.

Pronunciation

• On'yomi: Kan'on
• (Tokyo) じっぽ​ん [jìppóꜜǹ] (Nakadaka - [3])
• IPA^(key): [d͡ʑip̚põ̞ɴ]

Proper noun

日本 ‎(hiragana じっぽん, romaji Jippon)

1. (archaic) Japan
   • 1603–1604, Nippo Jisho (page 365)

     Iippon ジッポン (日本) Fino moto. (日の本) 東洋. すなわち、日本.

     (The quoted ii in iippon is the 16th century Portuguese romanization representing [ji].)

Synonyms

• 大和 (やまと, ​Yamato), 倭 (やまと, ​Yamato)
• 日本国 (にほんこく, ​Nihonkoku)
• 瑞穂の国 (みずほのくに, ​Mizuho no Kuni)
• 和 (わ, ​wa)

See also

• (prefectures of Japan) 日本; 北海道, 青森県, 岩手県, 宮城県, 秋田県, 山形県, 福島県, 茨城県, 栃木県, 群馬県, 埼玉県, 千葉県, 東京都, 神奈川県, 新潟県, 富山県, 石川県, 福井県, 山梨県, 長野県, 岐阜県, 静岡県, 愛知県, 三重県, 滋賀県, 京都府, 大阪府, 兵庫県, 奈良県, 和歌山県, 鳥取県, 島根県, 岡山県, 広島県, 山口県, 徳島県, 香川県, 愛媛県, 高知県, 福岡県, 佐賀県, 長崎県, 熊本県, 大分県, 宮崎県, 鹿児島県, 沖縄県 ^{(Category: ja:Prefectures of Japan)}

References

1. ↑ 1988, 国語大辞典（新装版） (Kokugo Dai Jiten, Revised Edition) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan
2. 1 2 2006, 大辞林 (Daijirin), Third Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, ISBN 4-385-13905-9
3. ↑ 2012, ニホンVSニッポン 「日本」の読み方、どっちが優勢?, The Nikkei
4. 1 2 1998, NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 (NHK Japanese Pronunciation Accent Dictionary) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: NHK, ISBN 978-4-14-011112-3
5. 1 2 1997, 新明解国語辞典 (Shin Meikai Kokugo Jiten), Fifth Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, ISBN 4-385-13143-0

• Doi, Tadao (1603–1604) Hōyaku Nippo Jisho (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Iwanami Shoten, ISBN 978-4-00-080021-1, published 1980.

Korean

Proper noun

日本 • ‎(Ilbon) ‎(hangeul 일본)

1. Hanja form^? of 일본, “Japan”.

Vietnamese

Proper noun

日本

1. Hán tự form of Nhật Bản, “Japan”
2. Hán tự form of Nhật Bổn, “Japan”