にほんご
nihongolanguage
The Japanese language in hiragana is にほんご (nihongo). The country is にほん (nihon) and a Japanese person is にほんじん (nihonjin). The suffix ご means language and じん means person.
Meaning: Japanese language (noun)
Ways to say it
| Japanese | Romanization | Note |
|---|---|---|
| にほんご | nihongo | language |
| にほん | nihon | country |
| にほんじん | nihonjin | person |
Which one should you use?
The country name also has the reading にっぽん (Nippon), which appears on banknotes, stamps and at sports events. Both readings are accepted.
How does it change in a sentence?
To name other languages, add ご to the country, as in えいご (eigo), English, and ちゅうごくご (Chūgokugo), Chinese.
Did you know?
- にほん and にっぽん are both official readings of the same characters 日本, meaning "origin of the sun".
Examples in context
- にほんごをべんきょうしています。Nihongo o benkyō shite imasu.I am studying Japanese.
- かれはにほんじんです。Kare wa nihonjin desu.He is Japanese.
- にほんはうつくしいくにです。Nihon wa utsukushii kuni desu.Japan is a beautiful country.
Example conversation
Tom meets Mika at a language exchange meeting.
- Mikaにほんごがじょうずですね。Nihongo ga jōzu desu ne.Your Japanese is good.
- Tomいいえ、まだまだです。Iie, madamada desu.No, I still have a long way to go.
- Mikaまいにちれんしゅうしていますか。Mainichi renshū shite imasu ka.Do you practice every day.
