異国

Japanese

Kanji in this term
異	国

Etymology 1

From Sinitic 異國.

Noun

異国 (shinjitai kanji, kyūjitai 異國, hiragana いこく, romaji ikoku)

1. A foreign country; a foreign land; a country external to Japan.
   • 1603-1604: Nippo Jisho (page 329)

     Icocu. イコク Cotonaru cuni. (異なる国) 他の国、あるいは、外国人の国.

   • 1617: Gennabon Kagakushū (page 7)

     異國 (イコク)

Usage notes

While synonymous with 外国 (gaikoku), this latter term is more common, while 異国 is a more formal term, suggesting “foreign lands, the exotic”.

Derived terms

• 異国人 (いこくじん, ikokujin): a foreigner

Synonyms

• 外国 (がいこく, gaikoku)

Etymology 2

From Old Japanese 異 (koto, “different, other”) +‎ 国 (kuni, “country, land”).

Noun

異国 (shinjitai kanji, kyūjitai 異國, hiragana ことくに, romaji kotokuni)

1. A different land, a strange land.
2. A foreign country.

Usage notes

Archaic.

Synonyms

• (different land):
  • 異郷 (いきょう, ikyō)
  • 他国 (たこく, takoku; ひとくに, hitokuni)
• (foreign country):
  • 外国 (がいこく, gaikoku)
  • 異邦 (いほう, ihō)

References

• 1980 May 19 [1603-1604], Tadao Doi, Hōyaku Nippo Jisho, Tōkyō: Iwanami Shoten, ISBN 4-0008-0021-3:
• 2006 May 19 [1597], Fukkoku Nihon Koten Zenshū: Setsuyōshū, Tōkyō: Gendai Shichō Shinsha, ISBN 4-329-02519-1: