Japanese

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Kanji in this term

Grade: 5
(ateji)
こく
Grade: 2
on'yomi
Alternative spellings
比國 (kyūjitai)
菲国

Etymology

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Compound of (hi, the Philippines) +‎ (koku, country).

The spelling is an example of ateji (当て字), abbreviated from the first kanji in 比律賓 (Firipin, the Philippines).

Pronunciation

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Proper noun

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()(こく) (Hikoku

  1. the Philippines

Synonyms

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References

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  1. ^ Kindaichi, Kyōsuke et al., editors (1997), 新明解国語辞典 [Shin Meikai Kokugo Jiten] (in Japanese), Fifth edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN