日本語

See also: 日本语

Chinese

		the sun's origin; where the sun originates; Japan	speech; language; dialect speech; language; dialect; tell to
trad. (日本語)		日本	語
simp. (日本语)		日本	语

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): rìběnyǔ

  (Zhuyin): ㄖˋ ㄅㄣˇ ㄩˇ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): jat⁶ bun² jyu⁵
• Eastern Min (BUC): nĭk-buōng-ngṳ̄

---

• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: rìběnyǔ [Phonetic: rìbényǔ]
    • Zhuyin: ㄖˋ ㄅㄣˇ ㄩˇ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: rìhběnyǔ
    • Wade–Giles: jih⁴-pên³-yü³
    • Yale: r̀-běn-yǔ
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: ryhbeenyeu
    • Palladius: жибэньюй (žibɛnʹjuj)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ʐ̩⁵¹ pən²¹⁴⁻³⁵ y²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • Jyutping: jat⁶ bun² jyu⁵
    • Yale: yaht bún yúh
    • Cantonese Pinyin: jat⁹ bun² jy⁵
    • Guangdong Romanization: yed⁶ bun² yu⁵
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /jɐt̚² puːn³⁵ jyː¹³/
• Eastern Min
  • (Fuzhou)
    • Bàng-uâ-cê: nĭk-buōng-ngṳ̄
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /nˡiʔ⁵⁻²¹ puoŋ³³⁻³⁵ ŋy³³/

Noun

日本語

1. Japanese language

Usage notes

• Like Nihongo in English, 日本語／日本语 (rìběnyǔ) is usually restricted to linguistic and language learning contexts, whilst 日文 (rìwén) and 日語／日语 (rìyǔ) are more commonly used in written and conversational situations respectively.

Synonyms

Dialectal synonyms of 日語 (“Japanese language”) [map]

Variety	Location	Words edit
Formal (Written Standard Chinese)		日語, 日文, 日本語
Mandarin	Taiwan	日文, 日語, 日本話
	Singapore	日文, 日語
Cantonese	Hong Kong	日文, 㗎文, 㗎話
	Singapore (Guangfu)	日本話
Southern Min	Xiamen	日語
	Quanzhou	日語
	Zhangzhou	日語
	Tainan	日語, 日文
	Penang (Hokkien)	日本話
	Singapore (Hokkien)	日本話
Wu	Shanghai	日文, 日本閒話

Japanese

Kanji in this term
日	本	語
にち > にっ Grade: 1	ほん > ぽん Grade: 1	ご Grade: 2
on’yomi

Kanji in this term
日	本	語
にち > に Grade: 1	ほん Grade: 1	ご Grade: 2
irregular	on’yomi

Etymology

From 日本 (Nihon, Nippon, “Japan”) +‎ 語 (-go, “language”).

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) にほんご [nìhóńgó] (Heiban – [0])
• IPA^(key): [ɲ̟ihõ̞ŋɡo̞]

• Audio

  (file)

• (Tokyo) にっぽんご [nìppóńgó] (Heiban – [0])
• IPA^(key): [ɲ̟ip̚põ̞ŋɡo̞]

Noun

日(に)本(ほん)語(ご) or 日(にっ)本(ぽん)語(ご) • (nihongo or nippongo) 

1. the Japanese language
   • 2002 March 9, Yumi Hotta with Obata, Takeshi, “第(だい)131(ひゃくさんじゅういち)局(きょく)　試(ため)される伊(い)角(すみ)”, in ヒカルの碁 [Hikaru’s Go], volume 16 (fiction), Tokyo: Shueisha, →ISBN, page 56:

     オレの日(に)本(ほん)語(ご)どう？悪(わる)くないだろ　韓(かん)国(こく)語(ご)と英(えい)語(ご)も話(はな)すんだぜ　趣(しゅ)味(み)だな語(ご)学(がく)は

     Ore no nihongo dō? Waruku nai daro Kankokugo to eigo mo hanasu n da ze Shumi da na gogaku wa

     How’s my Japanese? Not bad, right? I also speak Korean and English. I like learning languages.

Synonyms

• 国語(こくご) (kokugo), 邦語(ほうご) (hōgo)

Korean

Hanja in this term
日	本	語

Noun

日本語 • (ilboneo) (hangeul 일본어)

1. Hanja form^? of 일본어 (“Japanese language”).