日本
rìběn/ɻ̩⁵¹ pən²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/
The English word 'Japan' is translated into Chinese as 日本 (rìběn).
Meaning: a country in East Asia (name)
Ways to say it
| Chinese | Romanization (Wiktionary) | IPA | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 日本 | rìběn | /ɻ̩⁵¹ pən²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/ (Mandarin, Standard Chinese, Sinological IPA) /ɻ̩⁴⁴ pəŋ⁵¹/ (Mandarin, Dungan, Sinological IPA) |
|
| 日本 | Ji̍t-pún, Li̍t-pún | /zit̚⁴⁻³² pun⁴¹/ (Min Nan, Hokkien, Zhangzhou, Zhangpu, Kaohsiung, Penang, Singapore, Sinological IPA) /d͡zit̚¹⁴⁻³³ pun⁵³/ (Min Nan, Hokkien, Zhangzhou, Zhangpu, Kaohsiung, Penang, Singapore, Sinological IPA) |
Hokkien |
The term refers to the country located in East Asia.
What does it mean word for word?
The name consists of two characters: 日 meaning 'sun' and 本 meaning 'origin' or 'root', literally translating to 'sun origin'.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In the Dungan language, the term Жыбын is used. In Hokkien, the term 日本 is used.
How do you pronounce it?
The Hokkien forms 日本 are pronounced as /ɻ̩⁵¹ pən²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/ (Ji̍t-pún, Li̍t-pún).
Did you know?
- Before the name 日本 was stabilized, China often referred to the islands as 倭, which translates to 'dwarf'.
- Some Tang-dynasty histories claim that Empress Wu Zetian was responsible for changing the name to 日本.
- The Dungan language uses the form Жыбын to say 'Japan', which uses the Cyrillic alphabet to represent a Chinese-based term.
Examples in context
- 日本欢迎您。Welcome to Japan.This sentence is useful for welcoming someone to 日本.Tatoeba #542440 by GlossaMatik, translation #281616 by CN
- 日本在亚洲。Japan is situated in Asia.This sentence is useful for stating the location of 日本.Tatoeba #1415769 by sadhen, translation #794745 by hrin
- 她环游了日本。She traveled round Japan.This sentence is useful for describing travel through 日本.Tatoeba #8739363 by crescat, translation #316081 by shekitten
- 我对 日本 的历史很感兴趣。I am very interested in the history of Japan.
- 272 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Two friends are discussing future travel plans.
- 梓涵 Zihan你想去日本旅游吗？Nǐ xiǎng qù Rìběn lǚyóu ma?Do you want to travel to Japan?
- 志强 Zhiqiang我想，日本有很多好吃的。Wǒ xiǎng, Rìběn yǒu hěnduō hǎo chī de.I do, Japan has a lot of delicious food.
- 梓涵 Zihan那我们一起计划去日本吧。Nà wǒmen yìqǐ jìhuà qù Rìběn ba.Then let's plan a trip to Japan together.
- 志强 Zhiqiang太好了，我现在就开始查。Tài hǎole, wǒ xiànzài jiù kāishǐ chá.Great, I will start looking it up now.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “japan” translations and entries 日本, 日本, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries 日本, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
