Japan

See also: japan, japán, and Japán

English

Alternative forms

Etymology

    First attested in English as Giapan in Richard Willes's 1577 The History of Travayle in the West and East Indies (cited in Peter C. Mancall's Travel Narratives from the Age of Discovery, pp. 156–57), translating a 19 February 1565 letter of the Portuguese Jesuit missionary Luís Fróis as "Of the Ilande of Giapan".

    Borrowed from Portuguese Japão / Japam with possible influence from Dutch Japan, both from Malay Jepang, from Hokkien 日本 (Ji̍t-pún), from Middle Chinese 日本 (nyit pwonX, sun origin). With /j/ readings, such as Iaponia / Japonia or Japon / Iapon from possibly Cantonese 日本 (jat6 bun2), also from Middle Chinese 日本 (nyit pwonX, sun origin).

    Compare also modern Mandarin 日本 (Rìběn), Japanese 日本(にっぽ​ん) (Nippo​n) / 日本(にほ​ん) (Niho​n) (whence English doublets Nippon and Nihon), Korean 일본 (Ilbon) (日本), Vietnamese Nhật Bản (日本).

    The earliest form of Japan in Europe was Marco Polo's Cipangu, from some form of synonymous Sinitic 日本國 / 日本国 (Japan state).

    Pronunciation

    • IPA(key): /d͡ʒəˈpæn/
    • Audio (US):(file)
    • Audio (UK):(file)
    • Rhymes: -æn

    Proper noun

    Japan

    1. A country and archipelago of East Asia.
      Synonyms: Jap., Jpn., Land of the Rising Sun, Japonia, Nihon, Nippon, Yamato, State of Japan
      • 1889 Jan., Oscar Wilde, The Decay of Lying: An Observation", The Nineteenth Century:
        Vivian: If you set a picture by Hokusai, or Hokkei, or any of the great native painters, beside a real Japanese gentleman or lady, you will see that there is not the slightest resemblance between them. The actual people who live in Japan are not unlike the general run of English people; that is to say, they are extremely commonplace, and have nothing curious or extraordinary about them. In fact the whole of Japan is a pure invention. There is no such country, there are no such people... if you desire to see a Japanese effect, you will not behave like a tourist and go to Tokio. On the contrary, you will stay at home and steep yourself in the work of certain Japanese artists, and then, when you have absorbed the spirit of their style, and caught their imaginative manner of vision, you will go some afternoon and sit in the Park or stroll down Piccadilly, and if you cannot see an absolutely Japanese effect there, you will not see it anywhere.
      • 1985 February, Steve Jobs, interview with David Sheff, Playboy:
        Japan’s very interesting. Some people think it copies things. I don’t think that anymore. I think what they do is reinvent things. They will get something that’s already been invented and study it until they thoroughly understand it. In some cases, they understand it better than the original inventor... That strategy works only when what they’re working with isn’t changing very much—the stereo industry and the automobile industry are two examples. When the target is moving quickly, they find it very difficult...
      • 2008 November 21, Graham Linehan, The IT Crowd, Season 3, Episode 1:
        Nolan: You do know Japan have expressed concern?
        Douglas: What, the whole country?
        Nolan: No, not the whole... Mr Yamamoto.
        Douglas: He's important, isn't he?
        Nolan: He's the major shareholder.
      • 2023 May 18, Reuters, “Chipmakers look to Japan as worries about China grow”, in CNN Business[1]:
        In particular, Kumamoto prefecture in southwestern Japan is quickly becoming a hotbed for tech investment from companies including TSMC and Fujifilm Holdings Corp (FUJIF).

    Derived terms

    Descendants

    Translations

    See also

    • 🗾
    • Appendix:Countries of the world

    Further reading

    Afrikaans

    Etymology

    Inherited from Dutch Japan, from Malay Jepang, from Hokkien 日本 (Ji̍t-pún), from Middle Chinese 日本 (nyit pwonX, literally sun origin).

    Pronunciation

    • Audio:(file)

    Proper noun

    Japan

    1. Japan (a country and archipelago of East Asia; capital: Tokio)

    Derived terms

    Danish

    Etymology

    From Dutch Japan, from Malay Jepang, from Hokkien 日本 (Ji̍t-pún), from Middle Chinese 日本 (nyit pwonX, literally sun origin).

    Proper noun

    Japan

    1. Japan (a country and archipelago of East Asia)

    Descendants

    Dutch

    Etymology

      From Malay Jepang, from Hokkien 日本 (Ji̍t-pún), from Middle Chinese 日本 (nyit pwonX, literally sun origin).

      Pronunciation

      • IPA(key): /jaːˈpɑn/
      • Audio:(file)
      • Hyphenation: Ja‧pan
      • Rhymes: -ɑn

      Proper noun

      Japan n

      1. Japan (a country and archipelago of East Asia)

      Derived terms

      Descendants

      Faroese

      Etymology

      From Danish Japan, from Dutch Japan, from Malay Jepang, from Hokkien 日本 (Ji̍t-pún), from Middle Chinese 日本 (nyit pwonX, literally sun origin).

      Pronunciation

      • IPA(key): /ˈjaːpan/

      Proper noun

      Japan

      1. Japan (a country and archipelago of East Asia)

      German

      Etymology

      From Dutch Japan, from Malay Jepang, from Hokkien 日本 (Ji̍t-pún), from Middle Chinese 日本 (nyit pwonX, literally sun origin).

      Pronunciation

      • IPA(key): /ˈjaːpan/
      • Audio:(file)
      • Audio:(file)

      Proper noun

      Japan n (proper noun, genitive Japans or (optionally with an article) Japan)

      1. Japan (a country and archipelago of East Asia)
        Synonym: Land der aufgehenden Sonne

      Descendants

      See also

      Further reading

      • Japan” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache
      • Japan” in Uni Leipzig: Wortschatz-Lexikon
      • Japan” in Duden online
      • Japan on the German Wikipedia.Wikipedia de

      Hausa

      Etymology

      From English Japan.

      Pronunciation

      • IPA(key): /(d)ʒà.pân/
        • (Standard Kano Hausa) IPA(key): [d͡ʒə̀.pâŋ]

      Proper noun

      Jàpân f

      1. Japan (a country and archipelago of East Asia)

      Icelandic

      Etymology

      Borrowed from Danish Japan, from Dutch Japan, from Malay Jepang, from Hokkien 日本 (Ji̍t-pún), from Middle Chinese 日本 (nyit pwonX, literally sun origin).

      Pronunciation

      • IPA(key): /ˈjaːpʰan/

      Proper noun

      Japan n (proper noun, genitive singular Japan or (rare) Japans)

      1. Japan (a country and archipelago of East Asia)
        Ég fer til Japans.
        I'm going to Japan.
        Hvar er Japan staðsett á kortinu?
        Where is Japan located on the map?

      Declension

      Declension of Japan (sg-only neuter)
      indefinite singular
      nominative Japan
      accusative Japan
      dative Japan
      genitive Japan, Japans1

      1Rare.

      See also

      Japanese

      Romanization

      Japan

      1. Rōmaji transcription of ジャパン

      Norwegian Bokmål

      Etymology

      From German Japan, from Dutch Japan, from Malay Jepang, from Hokkien 日本 (Ji̍t-pún), from Middle Chinese 日本 (nyit pwonX, literally sun origin).

      Proper noun

      Japan

      1. Japan (a country and archipelago of East Asia)

      Norwegian Nynorsk

      Etymology

      From German Japan, from Dutch Japan, from Malay Jepang, from Hokkien 日本 (Ji̍t-pún), from Middle Chinese 日本 (nyit pwonX, literally sun origin).

      Proper noun

      Japan

      1. Japan (a country and archipelago of East Asia)

      Serbo-Croatian

      Etymology

      From German Japan, from Dutch Japan, from Malay Jepang, from Hokkien 日本 (Ji̍t-pún), from Middle Chinese 日本 (nyit pwonX, literally sun origin).

      Pronunciation

      • IPA(key): /jǎpaːn/
      • Hyphenation: Ja‧pan

      Proper noun

      Jàpān m inan (Cyrillic spelling Ја̀па̄н)

      1. Japan (a country and archipelago of East Asia)

      Declension

      Swahili

      Pronunciation

      Proper noun

      Japan

      1. alternative form of Japani

      Swedish

      Etymology

      From Dutch Japan, from Malay Jepang, from Hokkien 日本 (Ji̍t-pún), from Middle Chinese 日本 (nyit pwonX, literally sun origin).

      Pronunciation

      • IPA(key): /¹jɑːpan/
      • Audio:(file)

      Proper noun

      Japan n (genitive Japans)

      1. Japan (a country and archipelago of East Asia)

      See also

      References

      Welsh

      Alternative forms

      Etymology

      Borrowed from English Japan.

      Proper noun

      Japan m (not mutable)

      1. Japan (a country and archipelago of East Asia)

      Coordinate terms