The first word for the new Japan Travel Word of the Day feature is “nihon”. In Japanese, nihon means “Japan”. The Chinese characters used for this word mean “sun” and “root/origin”. Japan is famously dubbed, “The Land of the Rising Sun,” which is strongly based on the character meanings.
Nihon versus Nippon
Sometimes Japanese read the characters for “nihon” as “nippon”. You might see “nippon” written on Japanese postal stamps, on Japanese currency, or even on airplanes (one of the major Japanese carriers is ANA, or All Nippon Airways.)
There is no real difference between the two, other than “nippon” is an older reading. These days, “nihon” is the standard pronunciation. According to a Japanese encyclopedia, “nihon” became more commonly used because it was slightly easier to say.
“Nihon” is commonly used in sayings such as “nihongo” (the Japanese language), or “nihonjin” (a Japanese person/Japanese people).
Check out more Japan Travel Word of the Day by the Japan Travel Examiner
(Image note: The top character set is the word of the day written in hiragana-one version of the Japanese alphabet. The middle character set is the Chinese characters used-called kanji in Japanese. The bottom character set is written in katakana-a second Japanese alphabet.)
Comments
"easier to say". looking for "easier" (simplistic to the point of 1984) is the story of the Japanese. case in point: using katakana "dji" sound instead of the proper (and available) "di" because it is easier to write. therefore, instead of ko-phi (coffee) they have ko-hi (cohee, really?), and instead of a baseball staDIum, they have a staDJIum. silly Japanese.
Got something to say?
Examiner.com is looking for writers, photographers, and videographers to join the fastest growing group of local insiders. If you are interested in growing your online rep apply to be an Examiner today!