Japan

Japan Japán japan japán English thumb|240px|Flag of Japan thumb|240px|A satellite image showing Japan Alternative forms en Giapan obsolete en Japonia Japony obsolete en Japon obsolete Etymology en country :bor pt:Japão<id:country> nl:Japan<id:country> 1 First attested in English as en 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". en pt Japam//Japão with possible influence from en nl Japan, both from en ms Jepang, from en nan-hbl 日本 Ji̍t-pún, from en ltc 日本 sun origin. With /j/ readings, such as en Iaponia//Japonia//Japon//Iapon from possibly en yue 日本, also from en ltc 日本 sun origin. Compare also modern cmn 日本, ja - 日本 ^にっぽ​ん / 日本 ^にほ​ん (whence English doublets en Nippon Nihon 1), ko ^일본 (ko 日本), vi Nhật Bản (vi 日本). The earliest form of Japan in Europe was Marco Polo's it Cipangu, from some form of synonymous en zhx - zh 日本國 - Japan state. Pronunciation en /d͡ʒəˈpæn/ RP,GA,AU [d͡ʒəˈpɛə̯n]<a:<<US>>, <<CA>>, with <<æ-tensing>>> en En-us-Japan.ogg US en /d͡ʒəˈpan/ SSB,Northern England,Scotland,Wales en LL-Q1860 (eng)-Soundguys-Japan.wav SSB en /d͡ʒəˈpɛn/ NZ en æn 2 Proper noun en Q17en country r/East Asia Tokyo. en Dawnland JP JPN Jap. Japonia Jpn. Land of the Rising Sun Nihon Nippon State of Japan Yamato puristic 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 (magazine) 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. en Reuters Chipmakers look to Japan as worries about China grow w:CNN Business https://www.cnn.com/2023/05/18/tech/chipmaking-japan-china-g7 2023-05-18 In particular, Kumamoto prefecture in southwestern Japan is quickly becoming a hotbed for tech investment from companies including TSMC and Fujifilm Holdings Corp (FUJIF). https://web.archive.org/web/20251118173332/https://www.cnn.com/2023/05/18/tech/chipmaking-japan-china-g7 18 November 2025 en Q841337en archipelago r/East Asia Japanese archipelago. Derived terms en Japan allspice (Chimonanthus praecox species) Japan camphor Empire of Japan Jap derogatory japan Japan black Japan cedar Japan clover Japan Current Japandi Japan earth Japanese Japanesque Japanification Japanimation Japanime Japan ink Japanish Japanism Japanize Japan lacquer Japano- Japanolatry Japanology Japanophile Japanophilia Japan plum Japan rose Japan tree lilac Japan varnish japanware Japayuki-san Place, Japan Sea of Japan Descendants 1 tpi Siapan 1 as জাপান 1 bn জাপান 1 my ဂျပန် fa-cls جَاپَان 1 1 or directly from Pashto or Urdu 1 gu જાપાન inc-hnd 1 hi जापान ur جاپان jāpān 1 ga Seapáin 1 ja ジャパン Japan kn 1 ಜಪಾನ್ 1 kok - kok 1 जपान kok 1 Japan kok 1 ಜಪಾನ್ 1 mr जपान 1 mrw Diyapan 1 mh Jepaan 1 mkj Japahn ne जापान 1 1 or through Hindi or ଜାପାନ୍ ଜାପାନ 1 ps جَاپَان 1 1 jāpān or directly from Persian or Urdu 1 pa - pa 1 ਜਪਾਨ 1 pa 1 جَپَان جَاپَان 1 sm Iapani 1 shn မိူင်းၵျႃႇပၢၼ်ႇ 1 ta ஜப்பான் 1 te జపాను 1 cy Japan 1 cy Siapan 1 yo Jèpáànì Translations Q17 a country in East Asia Abkhaz: ab Иапониа Acehnese: ace Jeupun Afrikaans: af Japan Ainu: ain シサㇺ Sisam Akan: ak Yapan, ak Gyapan Albanian: sq Japoni f indefinite, Tosk, sq Japonia f definite, Tosk, sq Japan m Gheg Altai: Southern Altai: alt Јопон Amharic: am ጃፓን Amis: ami Ripon Arabic: ar الْيَابَان f Aragonese: an Chapón m Aramaic: Assyrian Neo-Aramaic: aii ܝܲܦܵܢ yāpan f Armenian: hy Ճապոնիա Assamese: as জাপান Asturian: ast Xapón m Aymara: ay Nihun Azerbaijani: Arabic: az ياپونيا yāpōniâ, az ژاپون jāpon Latin: az Yaponiya Banjarese: bjn Japang Bashkir: ba Япония Basque: eu Japonia Belarusian: be Япо́нія f Bengali: bn জাপান Breton: br Japan Buginese: bug ᨍᨛᨄ Bulgarian: bg Япо́ния f Burmese: my ဂျပန် Buryat: bua Жибэн Carpathian Rusyn: rue Япо́нія f Catalan: ca Japó m Cebuano: ceb Hapon Chamorro: ch Japan Chavacano: cbk Japón Chechen: ce Япон Cherokee: chr ᏣᏆᏂ Cheyenne: chy Japan Chinese: Cantonese: yue 日本 Dungan: dng Жыбын Eastern Min: cdo 日本 Hakka: hak 日本 Ngit-pún Hokkien: nan-hbl 日本 Ji̍t-pún, Li̍t-pún Jin: cjy 日本 Literary Chinese: lzh-lit 日本lzh check whether this should be lzh-lit ("Literary Chinese") or lzh ("Classical Chinese", < c. 200 AD) Mandarin: cmn 日本 Wu: wuu 日本 8zeq-pen Chuvash: cv Япони Circassian: West Circassian: ady Японие Coptic: cop ⲓⲏⲗⲓⲟⲡⲟⲛ Cornish: kw Japan Corsican: co Ghjappone m, co Giappone m Crimean Tatar: crh Yaponiya, crh Japon Czech: cs Japonsko n Danish: da Japan n Dhivehi: dv ޖާފާނު Dutch: nl Japan n Dzongkha: dz ཇཱ་པཱན Esperanto: eo Japanio, eo Japanujo, eo Nipono Estonian: et Jaapan Farefare: gur Yapan Faroese: fo Japan n Finnish: fi Japani Franco-Provençal: frp J·apon French: le fr Japon m Frisian: North Frisian: frr Jaapaan West Frisian: fy Japan Gagauz: gag Yaponiya Galician: gl Xapón m Georgian: ka იაპონია German: de Japan n Bavarian: bar Japan Greek: el Ιαπωνία f Guarani: Paraguayan Guarani: gug Hapõ Gujarati: gu જાપાન m Haitian Creole: ht Japon Hausa: ha Japan Hawaiian: haw Iāpana Hebrew: he יַפָּן f yapán Hindi: hi जापान m Hungarian: hu Japán Hunsrik: hrx Schapong n Icelandic: is Japan n Ido: io Japonia Ilocano: ilo Japon Indonesian: id Jepang Ingrian: izh Japoni Interlingua: ia Japon Inuktitut: iu ᓃᑉᐊᓐ, iu Niipan Irish: ga Seapáin f an tSeapáin Italian: it Giappone m Japanese: ja 日本 にほん, Nihon; にっぽん, Nippon, poetic ja 大和 やまと, Yamato, ja 日の本 ひのもと, Hinomoto, ja 倭 わ, Wa; やまと, Yamato Javanese: jv Jepang Jeju: jje 일본(日本), jje 웨국(倭國) dated, derogatory Kalmyk: xal Японь Kannada: kn ಜಪಾನ್ Kapampangan: pam apon Kashmiri: ks जापान Kashubian: csb Japóńskô Kazakh: kk Жапония Khmer: km ជប៉ុន Korean: ko ^일본(日本) Kunigami: xug 大和 Yamatū Kurdish: Central Kurdish: ckb ژاپۆن Northern Kurdish: kmr Japon Kyrgyz: ky Жапония Lao: lo ຍີ່ປຸ່ນ Latgalian: ltg Japoneja f Latin: la Iaponia f, la Japonia f Latvian: lv Japāna f Ligurian: lij Giappon m Limburgish: li Japan Lingala: ln Zapɔ́ Lithuanian: lt Japonija f Lombard: lmo Gjapon m (lmo Giapon m) Low German: nds Japan Dutch Low Saxon: nds-nl Japan Lü: khb ᦍᦲᧈᦔᦳᧃᧈ Luxembourgish: lb Japan Macedonian: mk Јапонија f Malagasy: mg Japana Malay: ms Jepun, ms Jepang Malayalam: ml ജപ്പാന്‍, ml ജപ്പാൻ Maltese: mt Ġappun Manchu: mnc ᡰᡳ ᠪᡝᠨ, mnc ᡰᡳᠪᡝᠨ Manipuri: Bishnupriya Manipuri: bpy জাপান jāpān Manx: gv Japaan f Yn Çhapaan Māori: mi Tiapana Maranao: mrw Diyapan Marathi: mr जपान Marshallese: mh Japan Mauritian Creole: mfe Zapon Miyako: mvi 大和 Yamatu Mokilese: mkj Japahn Mongolian: mn ᠶᠠᠫᠣᠨ ᠤᠯᠤᠰ, mn ᠨᠠᠷᠠᠨ ᠤᠯᠤᠰ obsolete Cyrillic: mn Япон Улс Muna: mnb Dhapa Nahuatl: nah Xapōn Nauruan: na Djapan Navajo: nv Binááʼádaałtsʼózí dineʼé bikéyah Neapolitan: nap Giappone Nepali: ne जापान Newar: new जापान Norman: nrf Japon m Norwegian: Bokmål: nb Japan n Nynorsk: nn Japan n Occitan: oc Japon m Odia: or ଜାପାନ୍, or ଜାପାନ Okinawan: ryu 大和 Yamatu, ryu 大大和 Ufuyamatu Ossetian: os Япон Palauan: pau Siabal Pannonian Rusyn: rsk Япон m Pashto: ps جاپان m jāpān Persian: Dari: prs جَاپَان Iranian Persian: fa-ira ژاپُن Piedmontese: pms Giapon m Plautdietsch: pdt Jaupaun n Polish: pl Japonia f Portuguese: pt Japão m Punjabi: Gurmukhi: pa ਜਪਾਨ m Shahmukhi: pa جاپان m Quechua: qu Nihun Rade: rad Za pô nê Rarotongan: rar Tiapāni Romani: rom Źapònia f i Źapònia Romanian: ro Japonia f Romansh: rm Giapun m Russian: ru Япо́ния f Sami: Northern Sami: se Japána Samoan: sm Iapani Samogitian: sgs Japuonėjė Sanskrit: sa जापान Santali: sat ᱡᱟᱯᱟᱱ Sardinian: sc Giapone m, sc Giappone m, sc Giaponi m, sc Giapponi m Scots: sco Japan Scottish Gaelic: gd Iapan Serbo-Croatian: Cyrillic: sh Ја̀па̄н m Latin: sh Jàpān m Sicilian: scn Giappuni m Silesian: szl Japůńja Sindhi: sd جاپان Sinhalese: si ජපානය Slovak: sk Japonsko n Slovene: sl Japónska f Somali: so Jabaan Sorbian: Lower Sorbian: dsb Japońska Upper Sorbian: hsb Japanska Spanish: es Japón m, es Cipango, es Zipango Sundanese: su Jepang Swahili: sw Japani Swazi: ss IJaphani, ss Japan Swedish: sv Japan n Sylheti: syl ꠎꠣꠙꠣꠘ Tagalog: tl Hapon Tahitian: ty Tāpōnē Tajik: tg Ҷопон, tg Жопон Tamil: ta ஜப்பான், ta யப்பான் Tangsa: nst Cyexpanx Tatar: tt Япония, tt Жапон Tboli: tbl Afun Telugu: te జపాన్ Thai: th ญี่ปุ่น Tibetan: bo རི་པིན, bo ཉི་ཧོང Tok Pisin: tpi Siapan Turkish: tr Japonya Ottoman Turkish: ota ژاپنیا Japonya Turkmen: tk Ýaponiýa Udmurt: udm Япония Ukrainian: uk Япо́нія f Urdu: ur جاپان m Uyghur: ug ياپونىيە Uzbek: uz Yaponiya Venetan: vec Giapòn m Vietnamese: vi Nhật Bản (vi 日本), vi Nhật Bổn dated, vi Nhựt Bổn obsolete, vi Nhựt Bản obsolete Volapük: vo Yapän Waray-Waray: war Hapon Welsh: cy Japan Wolof: wo Sapoŋ Written Oirat: xwo ᡕᠠᡌᡆᠨ Wutunhua: wuh reben Yaeyama: rys 大和 Yamatu Yakut: sah Япония, sah Дьоппуон сирэ Yiddish: yi יאַפּאַן n Yonaguni: yoi 大和 Damatu Yoruba: yo Jèpáànì Zazaki: zza Japonya Southern Zazaki Zhuang: za Yizbwnj, za Nditbonj Zulu: zu IJapani See also mul 🗾 Appendix:Countries of the world Further reading en exonyms Afrikaans af: Etymology af nl Japan, from af ms Jepang, from af nan-hbl 日本 Ji̍t-pún, from af ltc 日本 sun origin. Pronunciation af LL-Q14196 (afr)-Oesjaar-Japan.wav Proper noun af Japan Q17 Tokio Derived terms af Japannees af Japanner af Japans af exonyms Breton br: Etymology br country :bor en:Japan<id:country> 1 br en Japan. Proper noun br propn br Japan Q17 Cornish kw: Etymology kw country :bor en:Japan<id:country> 1 kw en Japan, from kw pt Japão or kw nl Japan, from kw ms Jepang, from kw nan-hbl 日本. Pronunciation kw /dʒaˈpan/ Proper noun kw propn kw Japan Q17 kw Nihon Coordinate terms Related terms kw derow Japan<t:daimio oaks> ethbys Japan<t:fatsi> kereswydh Japan<t:Japanese cherry trees> keuspren Japan<t:Japanese cheesewood> klethra Japan<t:Japanese clethra> larwydh Japan<t:Japanese larches> mahonya Japan<t:mahonia> pinbren gwynn Japan<t:Japanese white pine> japanek<t:Japanese><pos:a> Japanek<t:Japanese language> Danish da: Etymology From da nl Japan, from da ms Jepang, from da nan-hbl 日本 Ji̍t-pún, from da ltc 日本 sun origin. Proper noun da proper noun da Japan Q17 Related terms da japaner da japansk Descendants 1 fo Japan 1 is Japan da exonyms Dutch Etymology nl :bor ms:Jepang<id:country> country From nl ms Jepang, from nl nan-hbl 日本 Ji̍t-pún, from nl ltc 日本 sun origin. Pronunciation nl /jaːˈpɑn/ nl Nl-Japan.ogg nl Ja pan nl ɑn Proper noun n nl Japan Q17 Derived terms nl Japanner nl Japans Descendants 2 desc af Japan 1 1 ar اليابان al-yābān 1 da Japan 1 en Japan 1 de Japan 1 sv Japan 1 fy Japan nl exonyms Faroese fo: Etymology From fo da Japan, from fo nl Japan, from fo ms Jepang, from fo nan-hbl 日本 Ji̍t-pún, from fo ltc 日本 sun origin. Pronunciation fo /ˈjaːpan/ Proper noun fo proper noun fo Japan Q17 Related terms fo japani, fo japanari fo japanskur German Etymology From de nl Japan, from de ms Jepang, from de nan-hbl 日本 Ji̍t-pún, from de ltc 日本 sun origin. Pronunciation de /ˈjaːpan/ de De-Japan.ogg de De-Japan2.ogg <<Germany>> (<<Berlin>>) Proper noun toponym de Japan Q17 de Land der aufgehenden Sonne Descendants 1 et Jaapan 1 fi Japani 1 hu Japán 1 lld Iapan 1 lv Japāna 1 no Japan 1 sh - sh Јапан 1 sh Japan 1 1 yi יאַפּאַן yapan See also de Japaner de Japanisch de japanisch Further reading de de exonyms Hausa Etymology From ha en Japan. Pronunciation jàpân Proper noun f Jàpân ha Japan Q17 Icelandic Etymology is da Japan, from is nl Japan, from is ms Jepang, from is nan-hbl 日本 Ji̍t-pún, from is ltc 日本 sun origin. Pronunciation Proper noun @@ is Japan Q17 is Ég fer til Japans. I'm going to Japan. is Hvar er Japan staðsett á kortinu? Where is Japan located on the map? Declension n,-:s[rare].dat- See also is Japani is japanska is exonyms Japanese Romanization ジャパン Norwegian Bokmål no thumb|The flag of Japan. thumb|Japan in Asia. thumb|Mount Fuji seen from Lake Kawaguchi in Japan. Etymology nb, borrowed from nb de Japan, from nb nl Japan, from nb ms Jepang, from nb nan-hbl 日本 Ji̍t-pún Japan, from nb ltc 日本 sun origin. The Middle Chinese name is composed of ltc 日 sun and ltc 本 root, origin, literally “origin of the sun”. These elements continue Old Chinese och 日 sun; day and och 本 root; tree trunk, respectively. The name ltc 日本 is attested as a designation for Japan from the seventh century, replacing the older name ltc 倭. Portuguese pt Japão represents a parallel European borrowing from Malay rather than a stage in the German–Dutch route leading to the Norwegian form. Compare the parallel international forms da Japan, sv Japan, de Japan and en Japan. Pronunciation nb /¹jaˈpaːn/ [jaˈpàːn] nb aːn 2 nb Ja pan Proper noun nb proper noun Japan; nb country r/East Asia cont/Asia Japan, an island country in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with Tokyo as its capital. nb Hun studerte japansk i flere år før hun flyttet til Japan. She studied Japanese for several years before moving to Japan. nb 26 July 2026 Nils Petter Thuesen Japan Store norske leksikon https://snl.no/Japan Japan er et keiserdømme i Øst-Asia. Japan is an imperial state in East Asia. https://web.archive.org/web/20260918052702/https://snl.no/Japan 18 September 2026 Usage notes The Norwegian short name and official name are both Japan.Navn på stater Språkrådet https://sprakradet.no/stedsnavn-og-navn-pa-statsorgan/navnelister-norsk-skrivemate/utanlandske-stadnamn-navn-pa-stater-og-sprak-transkripsjon/navn-pa-stater/ 12 August 2026 https://web.archive.org/web/20260925220913/https://sprakradet.no/stedsnavn-og-navn-pa-statsorgan/navnelister-norsk-skrivemate/utanlandske-stadnamn-navn-pa-stater-og-sprak-transkripsjon/navn-pa-stater/ 25 September 2026 Derived terms nb japanberberis<t:Japanese barberry> japaner<t:Japanese person; Japanese-made vehicle> japaneser<t:Japanese person; Japanese-made vehicle> japanesisk<t:Japanese> japanfatsia<t:Japanese aralia> japanisme<t:Japonism> japanlakk<t:Japanese lacquer> japanpapir<t:Japanese paper> japanpestrot<t:Japanese butterbur> japansk<t:Japanese> japanseder<t:Japanese cedar> japansparkel<t:Japanese putty knife> japanspir<t:Japanese astilbe> japansyrin<t:Japanese tree lilac> japantrollhassel<t:Japanese witch hazel> japanvinterpryd<t:Japanese laurel> 3 0 See also References nb exonyms Norwegian Nynorsk nn: Etymology From nn de Japan, from nn nl Japan, from nn ms Jepang, from nn nan-hbl 日本 Ji̍t-pún, from nn ltc 日本 sun origin. Proper noun nn proper noun nn Japan Q17 Related terms nn japanar nn japansk Serbo-Croatian sh:,sr:,hr:,bs: Etymology From sh de Japan, from sh nl Japan, from sh ms Jepang, from sh nan-hbl 日本 Ji̍t-pún, from sh ltc 日本 sun origin. Pronunciation sh /jǎpaːn/ sh Ja pan Proper noun Jàpān m-in jàpānskī Japánac Jàpānka sh Japan Q17 Declension Japan Japana Japanu Japan Japane Japanu Japanom sh exonyms Swahili Pronunciation sw Sw-ke-Japan.flac Kenya Proper noun sw proper noun sw Japani Swedish sv: Etymology From sv nl Japan, from sv ms Jepang, from sv nan-hbl 日本 Ji̍t-pún, from sv ltc 日本 sun origin. Pronunciation sv /¹jɑːpan/ sv Sv-Japan.ogg Proper noun n sv Japan Q17 Related terms sv japan sv japansk sv japanska See also References saol Svensk MeSH sv exonyms Welsh cy: Alternative forms cy Siapan Etymology cy en Japan. Proper noun m cy Japan Q17 Coordinate terms Related terms cy Japanead Japanese n cy Japaneaidd Japanese a Related terms cy bras melyn Japan Japanese yellowhammer cy clymog Japan Japanese knotweed cy Japanead Japanese person cy Japaneaidd Japanese a cy tewbig Japan Japanese hawfinch