▲ 348 r/etymology
Why English speakers say “Japan” while the Japanese say “Nihon” – and why the two words share almost no sounds
The Japanese call their country Nihon or Nippon. English speakers say Japan. The two names don’t share a single sound.
“Japan” didn’t come from Japanese. It traveled a long route: southern Chinese pronunciation → Malay traders (Jepang) → Portuguese (Japão) → English. Marco Polo’s earlier “Cipangu” is a related but separate branch of the same Chinese root meaning “origin of the sun.”
Interesting detail: the name “origin of the sun” only makes geographic sense from China’s point of view, not from inside Japan itself.
I made a short video that traces the full chain if anyone wants the longer version.
u/Fair_League_7995 — 4 days ago