本州
Honshū
To say Honshu in Japanese, write 本州, which is read Honshū.
本州 is the name of the largest of the main islands of Japan. Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka all lie on it.
What does it mean word for word?
本州 is written with two characters. 本 means main or origin and 州 means province, so the name means something like main province.
How do you pronounce it?
The romanized reading is Honshū. The line over the u marks a long vowel, so hold that sound about twice as long as a short one.
What mistakes should you avoid?
English usually writes the name as Honshu without the line over the u. In Japanese the vowel is long, so do not cut it short when you say it.
Did you know?
- While 本州 means 'main province', the word 州 is also used in Japanese to refer to the states of the United States, such as ニューヨーク州 for New York State.
- The character 本 in Honshū is a pictograph of a tree with a mark across the trunk to indicate the 'root' or 'origin'.
- While Honshū is the name of the island, the Japanese word for 'island' is shima, which is not present in the name Honshū.
Examples in context
- 本州はとても大きいです。Honshū wa totemo ookii desu.Honshu is very large.
- 本州のどこに住んでいますか。Honshū no doko ni sunde imasu ka.Where in Honshu do you live?
- 本州へ旅行に行きたいです。Honshū e ryokō ni ikitai desu.I want to go on a trip to Honshu.
Example conversation
Yota and Himari are talking about their travel plans.
- 陽葵 Himariどこへ旅行しますか？Doko e ryokō shimasu ka?Where are you traveling to?
- 陽太 Yota本州へ行きます。Honshū e ikimasu.I am going to Honshu.
- 陽葵 Himariいいですね！Ii desu ne!That sounds great!
- 陽太 Yota楽しみです。Tanoshimi desu.I'm looking forward to it.
