You may be surprised to know that what the Japanese call Japan sounds nothing like the English name for the country. “Japan” in Japanese is Nihon (日本).
The English name “Japan” evolved from a string of different names for Japan in Chinese (“Jih-pŭn”), Malay (“Jăpung” or “Japang”), and Marco Polo’s spelling of the Chinese name (“Chipangu” or “Zipangu”), like a game of Telephone. In Japanese, however, the true name Nihon is found in the Japanese language, nationality, and culture.
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‘Japan’ in Japanese is Nihon
The name for Japan in Japanese is Nihon (日本), pronounced “nee-hohn.” Have you ever heard of Japan being called the land of the rising sun? That comes from the kanji characters that make up its name, where the ni (日) character means “sun” and the hon (本) character means “origin.” In other words “origin of the sun,” or “land of the rising sun.”
- Watashi wa Nihon no shusshin desu.（私は日本の出身です。）= I am from Japan.
- Nihon ni ita toki ni, Eigo o oshiete imashita ka.（日本にいた時に、英語を教えていましたか。）= When you were in Japan, did you teach English?
‘Japan’ can also be Nippon in Japanese
Japan can also be called Nippon (日本)—pronounced “neep-pohn”—and it uses the same kanji characters. The difference between Nihon vs. Nippon is that the former is for everyday use and is much more common (roughly 98% of uses are pronounced Nihon) while the latter is more traditional and patriotic.
For example, people will say they’re from Nihon but they might cheer for Nippon at the Olympics. Ultimately, if you’re not sure which to use in a specific situation, go with Nihon.
Using ‘Japan’ as a prefix
Japan’s name—Nihon—can be used as a prefix for a few words that refer to Japan-specific things, such as Japanese history.
| Japanese | Romanization | Pronunciation | Meaning |
| 日本史 | nihonshi | nee-hohn-shee | Japanese history |
| 日本酒 | nihonshu | nee-hohn-shoo | Japanese rice wine (sake, 酒) |
| 日本製 | nihonsei | nee-hohn-seh | Japanese-made; Made in Japan |
‘Japanese’ in Japanese can be multiple words
Although it’s one word in English, “Japanese” is translated differently in Japanese whether it’s referring to the language, the nationality, or as an adjective to describe something from Japan.
English does this by adding suffixes to country names, like -ish (Spanish), -an (German), and -ese (Japanese). The process is simpler for Japanese words.
This pattern applies to most countries, primarily through the use of suffixes and the possessive Japanese particle no (の). The two most common suffixes are easy to apply for the majority of cases:
- ~go (～語): language of [country]
- Itaria (Italy) + go (language) = Itariago（イタリア語）= Italian
- ~jin (～人): [country] person
- Amerika (America/United States) + nin (person) = Amerikajin（アメリカ人）= American
Using the possessive particle no turns a noun into an adjective. That includes proper nouns like country names.
- [country] + no (の) + [noun]: [country]-ese/-ian/etc. [noun]
- Furansu (France) + no + dezāto (dessert) = Furansu no dezāto（フランスのデザート）= French dessert
Nihongo (Japanese language)
The word for the Japanese language in Japanese is Nihongo (日本語). It follows the usual pattern for languages by adding the suffix ~go to the country name (Nihon + go = Nihongo).
- Watashi wa Nihongo o yonde imasu.（私は日本語を読んでいます。）= I am reading Japanese.
- Watashi wa Chūgokugo to Nihongo o benkyōshite imasu.（私は中国語と日本語を勉強しています。）= I am studying Chinese and Japanese.
Nihonjin (Japanese person)
A Japanese person is a Nihonjin (日本人). Like other nationalities in Japanese, all you need to do is add the suffix ~jin to a country name to describe a person from that country (Nihon + jin = Nihonjin).
- Nihonjin desu ka.（日本人ですか。）= Are you Japanese?
- Kono onna no ko wa Nihonjin desu.（この女の子は日本人です。）= This girl is Japanese.
‘Japanese’ as an adjectival noun
Japanese nouns can be used as adjectives with the help of the Japanese particle no, so the proper noun Nihon (Japan) can become the adjectival noun Nihon no (Japanese). In some cases, Nihon no can also be translated as “in Japan,” but its role as a descriptor is the same.
- Nihon no yama（日本の山）= Japanese mountain
- Nihon no resutoran（日本のレストラン）= Japanese restaurant
- Hai, Nihon no daigaku de bijutsu o benkyō shimashita.（はい、日本の大学で美術を勉強しました。）= Yes, I studied art at a college in Japan (literally: Japanese college).
Using the character wa for ‘Japanese’
Some words that refer to specifically Japanese things include the kanji character wa (和), which means “peace” on its own, but also means “Japan” in some contexts. You’ll see this character frequently in words that refer to Japanese traditions, like washoku (traditional Japanese food).
| Japanese | Romanization | Pronunciation | Meaning |
| 和服 | wafuku | wah-foo-koo | Japanese-style clothes (like kimono) |
| 和室 | washitsu | wah-shee-tsoo | Japanese-style room (with tatami mat flooring) |
| 和牛 | wagyū | wah-gyoo | wagyu beef (from Japanese cattle) |
| 和菓子 | wagashi | wah-gah-shee | traditional Japanese confections |
| 和食 | washoku | wah-shoh-koo | Japanese food (like soba noodles) |
| 和風 | wafū | wah-foo | Japanese style |
| 和訳 | wayaku | wah-yah-koo | Japanese translation |
| 英和辞典 | eiwajiten | ehh-wah-jee-tehn | English-Japanese dictionary |
Learn more about Nihon by studying Japanese
One of the best ways to start understanding a country is by studying its language, and learning that Japan in Japanese is Nihon (or Nippon) and not “Japan” is a great stepping off point for studying Japanese. You’ll discover other words that got lost in translation, or even Japanese words that don’t translate from Japanese to English.
Many of the words you see here sound similar, so practicing the correct pronunciation is key. Rosetta Stone’s TruAccent speech recognition engine will listen to you read Japanese words out loud and give you instant feedback, building your confidence and ensuring you’re ready to converse in Nihongo (Japanese) with Nihonjin (Japanese people).
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