See also: japan, japán, and Japán

English

edit
 
A satellite image showing Japan

Alternative forms

edit

Etymology

edit

    First attested in English as Giapan in Richard Willes's 1577 The History of Travayle in the West and East Indies (cited in Peter C. Mancall's Travel Narratives from the Age of Discovery, pp. 156–57), translating a 19 February 1565 letter of the Portuguese Jesuit missionary Luís Fróis as "Of the Ilande of Giapan".

    Borrowed from Portuguese Japão / Japam with possible influence from Dutch Japan, both from Malay Jepang / Jepun, from Hokkien 日本 (Ji̍t-pún), from Middle Chinese 日本 (ȵiɪt̚ puənX, sun origin). With /j/ readings, such as Iaponia / Japonia or Japon / Iapon from Cantonese 日本 (jat6 bun2), also from Middle Chinese 日本 (ȵiɪt̚ puənX, sun origin).

    Compare also modern Mandarin 日本 (Rìběn), Japanese 日本(にっぽ​ん) (Nippo​n) / 日本(にほ​ん) (Niho​n), Korean 일본 (Ilbon) (日本), Vietnamese Nhật Bản (日本).

    The earliest form of Japan in Europe was Marco Polo's Cipangu, from some form of synonymous Sinitic 日本國日本国 (Japan state).

    Pronunciation

    edit
    • IPA(key): /d͡ʒəˈpæn/
    • Audio (US):(file)
    • Rhymes: -æn

    Proper noun

    edit

    Japan

    1. A country and archipelago in East Asia
      Synonyms: Jap., Jpn., Land of the Rising Sun, Japonia, Nihon, Nippon, Yamato, State of Japan
      • 1889 Jan., Oscar Wilde, The Decay of Lying: An Observation", The Nineteenth Century:
        Vivian: If you set a picture by Hokusai, or Hokkei, or any of the great native painters, beside a real Japanese gentleman or lady, you will see that there is not the slightest resemblance between them. The actual people who live in Japan are not unlike the general run of English people; that is to say, they are extremely commonplace, and have nothing curious or extraordinary about them. In fact the whole of Japan is a pure invention. There is no such country, there are no such people... if you desire to see a Japanese effect, you will not behave like a tourist and go to Tokio. On the contrary, you will stay at home and steep yourself in the work of certain Japanese artists, and then, when you have absorbed the spirit of their style, and caught their imaginative manner of vision, you will go some afternoon and sit in the Park or stroll down Piccadilly, and if you cannot see an absolutely Japanese effect there, you will not see it anywhere.
      • 1985 February, Steve Jobs, interview with David Sheff, Playboy:
        Japan’s very interesting. Some people think it copies things. I don’t think that anymore. I think what they do is reinvent things. They will get something that’s already been invented and study it until they thoroughly understand it. In some cases, they understand it better than the original inventor... That strategy works only when what they’re working with isn’t changing very much—the stereo industry and the automobile industry are two examples. When the target is moving quickly, they find it very difficult...
      • 2008 November 21, Graham Linehan, The IT Crowd, Season 3, Episode 1:
        Nolan: You do know Japan have expressed concern?
        Douglas: What, the whole country?
        Nolan: No, not the whole... Mr Yamamoto.
        Douglas: He's important, isn't he?
        Nolan: He's the major shareholder.

    Derived terms

    edit

    Descendants

    edit

    Translations

    edit

    See also

    edit

    Further reading

    edit

    Afrikaans

    edit
     
    Afrikaans Wikipedia has an article on:
    Wikipedia af

    Etymology

    edit

    Inherited from Dutch Japan, from Malay Jepang, from Hokkien 日本 (Ji̍t-pún), from Middle Chinese 日本 (ȵiɪt̚ puənX, literally sun origin).

    Pronunciation

    edit

    Proper noun

    edit

    Japan

    1. Japan (a country in East Asia; capital: Tokio)

    Derived terms

    edit

    Danish

    edit
     
    Danish Wikipedia has an article on:
    Wikipedia da

    Etymology

    edit

    From Dutch Japan, from Malay Jepang, from Hokkien 日本 (Ji̍t-pún), from Middle Chinese 日本 (ȵiɪt̚ puənX, literally sun origin).

    Proper noun

    edit

    Japan

    1. Japan (a country in East Asia)
    edit

    Descendants

    edit

    Dutch

    edit

    Etymology

    edit

      From Malay Jepang / Jepun, from Hokkien 日本 (Ji̍t-pún), from Middle Chinese 日本 (ȵiɪt̚ puənX, literally sun origin).

      Pronunciation

      edit
      • IPA(key): /jaːˈpɑn/
      • Audio:(file)
      • Hyphenation: Ja‧pan
      • Rhymes: -ɑn

      Proper noun

      edit

      Japan n

      1. Japan (a country in East Asia)

      Derived terms

      edit

      Descendants

      edit

      Faroese

      edit
       
      Faroese Wikipedia has an article on:
      Wikipedia fo

      Etymology

      edit

      From Danish Japan, from Dutch Japan, from Malay Jepang, from Hokkien 日本 (Ji̍t-pún), from Middle Chinese 日本 (ȵiɪt̚ puənX, literally sun origin).

      Pronunciation

      edit

      Proper noun

      edit

      Japan

      1. Japan (a country in East Asia)
      edit

      German

      edit

      Etymology

      edit

      From Dutch Japan, from Malay Jepang, from Hokkien 日本 (Ji̍t-pún), from Middle Chinese 日本 (ȵiɪt̚ puənX, literally sun origin).

      Pronunciation

      edit

      Proper noun

      edit

      Japan n (proper noun, genitive Japans or (optionally with an article) Japan)

      1. Japan (a country in East Asia)
        Synonym: Land der aufgehenden Sonne

      Descendants

      edit

      See also

      edit

      Further reading

      edit
      • Japan” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache
      • Japan” in Uni Leipzig: Wortschatz-Lexikon
      • Japan” in Duden online
      •   Japan on the German Wikipedia.Wikipedia de

      Hausa

      edit

      Etymology

      edit

      From English Japan.

      Pronunciation

      edit
      • IPA(key): /(d)ʒà.pân/
        • (Standard Kano Hausa) IPA(key): [d͡ʒə̀.pâŋ]

      Proper noun

      edit

      Jàpân f

      1. Japan (a country in Asia)

      Icelandic

      edit

      Etymology

      edit

      From Danish Japan, from Dutch Japan, from Malay Jepang, from Hokkien 日本 (Ji̍t-pún), from Middle Chinese 日本 (ȵiɪt̚ puənX, literally sun origin).

      Pronunciation

      edit

      Proper noun

      edit

      Japan n

      1. Japan (a country in East Asia)
        Ég fer til Japans.
        I'm going to Japan.
        Hvar er Japan staðsett á kortinu?
        Where is Japan located on the map?

      See also

      edit

      Japanese

      edit

      Romanization

      edit

      Japan

      1. Rōmaji transcription of ジャパン

      Norwegian Bokmål

      edit
       
      Norwegian Wikipedia has an article on:
      Wikipedia no

      Etymology

      edit

      From German Japan, from Dutch Japan, from Malay Jepang, from Hokkien 日本 (Ji̍t-pún), from Middle Chinese 日本 (ȵiɪt̚ puənX, literally sun origin).

      Proper noun

      edit

      Japan

      1. Japan (a country in East Asia)
      edit

      Norwegian Nynorsk

      edit
       
      Norwegian Nynorsk Wikipedia has an article on:
      Wikipedia nn

      Etymology

      edit

      From German Japan, from Dutch Japan, from Malay Jepang, from Hokkien 日本 (Ji̍t-pún), from Middle Chinese 日本 (ȵiɪt̚ puənX, literally sun origin).

      Proper noun

      edit

      Japan

      1. Japan (a country in East Asia)
      edit

      Serbo-Croatian

      edit

      Etymology

      edit

      From German Japan, from Dutch Japan, from Malay Jepang, from Hokkien 日本 (Ji̍t-pún), from Middle Chinese 日本 (ȵiɪt̚ puənX, literally sun origin).

      Pronunciation

      edit
      • IPA(key): /jǎpaːn/
      • Hyphenation: Ja‧pan

      Proper noun

      edit

      Jàpān m (Cyrillic spelling Ја̀па̄н)

      1. Japan (a country in East Asia)

      Declension

      edit

      Swahili

      edit

      Pronunciation

      edit

      Proper noun

      edit

      Japan

      1. Alternative form of Japani

      Swedish

      edit
       
      Swedish Wikipedia has an article on:
      Wikipedia sv

      Etymology

      edit

      From Dutch Japan, from Malay Jepang, from Hokkien 日本 (Ji̍t-pún), from Middle Chinese 日本 (ȵiɪt̚ puənX, literally sun origin).

      Pronunciation

      edit

      Proper noun

      edit

      Japan n (genitive Japans)

      1. Japan (a country in East Asia)
      edit

      References

      edit