Japanese exonyms
 | This article needs more citations. (February 2018) |
Japanese exonyms are the names of places in the Japanese language that differ from the name given in the place's dominant language.
While Japanese names of places that are not derived from the Chinese language generally tend to represent the endonym or the English exonym as phonetically accurately as possible, the Japanese terms for some place names are obscured, either because the name was borrowed from another language or because of some other obscure etymology, such as referring to England (more specifically the United Kingdom) as イギリス (Igirisu), which is based on the Portuguese term for "English", Inglês.[1] Exonyms for cities outside of the East Asian cultural sphere tend to be more phonetically accurate to their endonyms than the English exonyms if the endonym is significantly different from the English exonym.
The names for nations and cities that existed before major Japanese orthographic reforms in the Meiji era usually have ateji, or kanji characters used solely to represent pronunciation. However, the use of ateji today has become far less common, as katakana has largely taken over the role of phonetically representing words of non-Sino-Japanese origin. As significant differences exist between the pronunciations of the Chinese and Japanese languages, many of the ateji terms for the exonyms of foreign, non-Sinitic terms are unrecognizable in Chinese, and likewise, since some of the ateji terms derived from Chinese, the aforementioned terms do not match the Japanese on or kun readings for the pronunciation of the given kanji.
| † | Archaic, obsolete |
| ‡ | Rare |
| – | Does not exist |
( ) |
Does not exist, but kept on list for linguistic interest, or to prevent common errors. |
Based on endonyms
[edit]| English | Japanese | Endonym | Notes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kana | Ateji | Romanized | Name | Language | ||
| Afghanistan | アフガニスタン | Afuganisutan | افغانستان (Afğānistān) | Dari, Pashto | ||
| South Africa | 南アフリカ | Minami Afurika | South Africa | English | Abbreviated 南ア (Nan'a) | |
| Australia | オーストラリア | 濠太剌利 | Ōsutoraria | Australia | English | Also 豪州 (Gōshū) |
| Brazil | ブラジル | 伯剌西爾 | Burajiru | Brasil | Portuguese | |
| Buenos Aires | ブエノスアイレス | Buenosuairesu | Buenos Aires | Spanish | Abbreviated ブ市 (Bushi) (市 means 'city') | |
| Germany | ドイツ | 独逸 | Doitsu | Deutschland | German | |
| Indonesia | インドネシア | 印度尼西亜 | Indoneshia | Indonesia | Indonesian | |
| Ireland | アイルランド | 愛蘭 | Airurando | Ireland | English | |
| Israel | イスラエル | 以色列 | Isuraeru | ישראל (Yīsrāʾēl) | Hebrew | |
| Italy | イタリア | 伊太利 | Itaria | Italia | Italian | |
| 伊太利亜 | ||||||
| Liechtenstein | リヒテンシュタイン | Rihitenshutain | Liechtenstein | German | ||
| London | ロンドン | 倫敦 | Rondon | London | English | |
| Myanmar | ミャンマー | Myanmā | မြန်မာ (Mranma) | Burmese | Also ビルマ (Biruma) and 緬甸 (Menden) | |
| New Zealand | ニュージーランド | Nyūjīrando | New Zealand | English | ||
| Pakistan | パキスタン | 巴基斯坦 | Pakisutan | پاكستان (Pākistān) | Urdu | |
| Portugal | ポルトガル | 葡萄牙 | Porutogaru | Portugal | Portuguese | |
| Russia | ロシア | 露西亜 | Roshia | Россия (Rossija) | Russian | Abbreviated 露国 (Rokoku) (国 means 'country') |
| San Francisco | サンフランシスコ | Sanfuranshisuko | San Francisco | English | Also 桑港 (Sōkō) | |
| Seoul | ソウル | Souru | 서울 (Seoul) | Korean | Also 京城 (Keijō) | |
| Switzerland | スイス | 瑞西 | Suisu | Suisse | French | |
| Schweiz | German | |||||
| Thailand | タイ | 泰 | Tai | ประเทศไทย (Prathet Thai) | Thai | |
| United Arab Emirates | アラブ首長国連邦[2] | Arabu Shuchōkoku Renpō | الإمارات العربية المتحدة (al-ʾImārāt al-ʿArabiyya al-Muttaḥida) | Arabic | 首長国 (shuchōkoku) means 'emirate', and 連邦 (renpō) means 'union'. | |
| United States of America | アメリカ | 亜米利加[3] | Amerika | United States of America | English | Abbreviated 米国 (Beikoku)[4] (国 means 'country'). See also 合衆国 (Gasshūkoku) |
| Washington, D.C. | ワシントン | 華盛頓 | Washinton | Washington, D.C. | English | Abbreviated 華府 (Kafu) (府 means 'urban prefecture') |
Based on English exonyms
[edit]| English | Japanese | Endonym | Notes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kana | Ateji | Romanized | Name | Language | ||
| Algeria | アルジェリア | Arujeria | الجزائر (al-Jazāʾir) | Arabic | ||
| Dzayer | Berber | |||||
| Argentina | アルゼンチン | 亜爾然丁 | Aruzenchin | Argentina | Spanish | |
| Austria | オーストリア | 墺太利 | Ōsutoria | Österreich | German | |
| Cambodia | カンボジア | 柬埔寨 | Kanbojia | កម្ពុជា (Kampuchea) | Khmer | |
| Czech Republic | チェコ | Cheko | Česko | Czech | From English Czechoslovakia | |
| Denmark | デンマーク | 丁抹 | Denmāku | Danmark | Danish | |
| Egypt | エジプト | 埃及 | Ejiputo | مصر (Miṣr) | Arabic | |
| Iceland | アイスランド | 愛斯蘭 | Aisurando | Ísland | Icelandic | Also 氷島 (Hyōtō) |
| Laos | ラオス | 羅宇 | Raosu | ລາວ (Lao) | Lao | |
| 老檛 | ||||||
| Malaysia | マレーシア | 馬来西亜 | Marēshia | Malaysia | Malay | |
| Mexico | メキシコ | 墨西哥 | Mekishiko | México | Spanish | |
| Norway | ノルウェー | 諾威 | Noruwē | Noreg | Norwegian | |
| Philippines | フィリピン | 比律賓 | Firipin | Pilipinas | Filipino | Abbreviated 比島 (Hitō) (島 means 'island') |
| Poland | ポーランド | 波蘭 | Pōrando | Polska | Polish | |
| Saudi Arabia | サウジアラビア | Saujiarabia | ٱلسعودية (as-Suʿūdiyya) | Arabic | ||
| Spain | スペイン | 西班牙 | Supēn | España | Spanish | |
| Sweden | スウェーデン | 瑞典 | Suwēden | Sverige | Swedish | |
Based on Chinese names
[edit]For place names derived from the Chinese language, Japanese typically uses the kanji equivalents of the Chinese characters that make up their respective endonyms, albeit with a Sino-Japanese pronunciation called on'yomi. Some place names, however, also have an approximate pronunciation (or transcription) of a historical English exonym if the area is internationally well-known, such as Beijing and Hong Kong, and such transcriptions tend to be more common than the on'yomi or the Mandarin transcriptions. Most place names derived from Mandarin also have a Japanese transcription of the Mandarin pronunciation.
One detail to be noted, however, is that for the names of certain districts or areas in Hong Kong and Macau, the pronunciations of the Japanese transcriptions typically try to imitate the Cantonese pronunciation instead of the Mandarin pronunciation.
Most Korean place names are also derived from words in the Chinese language, though Japanese can refer to a Korean place name using either Japanese on-yomi or a pronunciation that imitates the Korean endonym name as closely as possible (Itaewon (梨泰院) is Ritai'in (りたいいん) or Itewon (イテウォン) in Japanese). Many place names in Korea have at least two of the pronunciations, the first being based on the Japanese on-yomi or kun-yomi and the second being based on the Korean endonym, with the latter being made so that the Japanese could navigate and ask for directions more clearly to native Koreans. Korean-based pronunciations are usually written in katakana.
The Chinese characters for the endonyms below are kanji shinjitai, which may differ from the simplified Chinese characters used in China. Most can be written either in kanji or katakana.
| English | Japanese | Mandarin | Endonym | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kanji | On'yomi | Not On'yomi | Pinyin | |||
| Beijing, Peking | 北京 | Hokkyō[5] |
Pekin[6][5] | Běijīng | Pronunciation based on historical English exonym[6] | |
| Hokkin[7]†[8] | ||||||
| Busan | 釜山 | Fuzan | Pusan | Fǔshān | Korean: 부산, romanized: Busan | |
| China | 中国 | Chūgoku | Zhōngguó | |||
| Philippines | 比律賓 | Firipin | Fēilǜbīn | Filipino: Pilipinas | ||
| Guangdong, Canton | 広東 | Kōtō |
Kanton | Guǎngdōng | Yue Chinese: Gwong2dung1 | Pronunciation based on historical English exonym |
| Harbin | 哈爾浜, 哈爾賓 | Harubin[9] | Hā'ěrbīn | Russian: Харбин, romanized: Kharbin,[9] Manchu: ᡥᠠᠯᠪᡳᠨ, romanized: Halbin | ||
| Harupin[9] | ||||||
| Hong Kong | 香港 | Kōkō[10][11] |
Honkon[12] | Xiānggǎng | Yue Chinese: Hoeng1gong2 | Pronunciation based on English exonym |
| India | 印度 | Indo | N/a | Yìndù | Hindi: भारत, romanized: Bhārat | Usually written with katakana |
| North Korea | 北朝鮮 | Kita Chōsen | N/a | Běi Cháoxiǎn | Korean: 북조선, romanized: Bukjoseon | 北 (kita) means 'north'. |
| South Korea | 韓国 | Kankoku | N/a | Hánguó | Korean: 한국, romanized: Han'guk | |
| Macau | 澳門 | Ōmon | Makao | Àomén | Yue Chinese: Ou3mun2 | Pronunciation based on Portuguese exonym |
| Myanmar | 緬甸†[13] | Menden | N/a | Miǎndiàn | Burmese: မြန်မာ, romanized: Mranma | Also ビルマ (Biruma) and ミャンマー (Myanmā) |
| Nanjing, Nanking | 南京 | Nankyō |
Nankin[6] | Nánjīng | Pronunciation based on historical English exonym | |
| Oxford | 牛津 | Okkusufōdo | Niújīn | 牛 means 'ox' and 津 means 'ford' in Chinese. | ||
| Pyongyang | 平壌 | Heijō‡ | Pyon'yan | Píngrǎng | Korean: 평양, romanized: P'yŏngyang | |
| Shanghai | 上海 | Jōkai[6]†[8][5] | Shanhai[5] | Shànghǎi | Wu Chinese: Zaan22 he44 | |
| Shenzhen | 深圳 | Shinsen | Shenchen‡ | Shēnzhèn | ||
| Tai Po | 大埔 | Taiho | Taipō | Dàpǔ | Yue Chinese: Daai6bou3 | Based on Cantonese pronunciation |
| Taipei | 台北 | Taihoku | Taipei | Táiběi | ||
| Taiwan | 台湾 | Taiwan | N/a | Táiwān | ||
| Tibet | 西蔵 | Seizō | Chibetto | Xīzàng | Standard Tibetan: བོད, romanized: Bod | Pronunciation based on the English exonym |
| Ürümqi | 烏魯木斉 | Urumuchi | Wūlǔmùqí | Uyghur: ئۈرۈمچى, romanized: Ürümçi | ||
| Vietnam | 越南 | Etsunan‡ | Betonamu | Yuènán | Vietnamese: Việt Nam | |
| Yangtze | 長江 | Chōkō[14] | Changawa‡ | Cháng Jiāng | ||
| 揚子江 | Yōshikō |
Yōsukō[15] | Yángzǐ Jiāng | |||
Other
[edit]| English | Japanese name | Endonym | Notes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kana | Ateji | Romanized | Name | Language | ||
| Australia | ごうしゅう | 豪州 | Gōshū | Australia | English | 豪 is derived from the 濠 in 濠太剌利 (Ōsutoraria), and 州 means 'continent'. |
| Chile | チリ | 智利† | Chiri | Chile | Spanish | From Portuguese Chile |
| チリー† | Chirī | |||||
| Greece | ギリシャ | 希臘 | Girisha | Ελλάδα (Elláda) | Greek | From Portuguese Grécia |
| Hollywood | ハリウッド | 聖林 | Hariuddo | Hollywood | English | |
| しょうりん‡ | Shōrin | Literally 'holy woods' | ||||
| Iceland | ひょうとう | 氷島 | Hyōtō | Ísland | Icelandic | Literally 'ice island'. See also アイスランド (Aisurando). |
| Kaohsiung | カオシュン | 高雄[16] | Kaoshun | 高雄 (Gāoxióng) | Mandarin | |
| たかお | Takao | From the Siraya name for the city.[17][better source needed] | ||||
| Kazakhstan | カザフスタン | Kazafusutan | Қазақстан (Qazaqstan) | Kazakh | From Russian Казахстан (Kazakhstan) | |
| Los Angeles | らふ† | 羅府† | Rafu | Los Angeles | English | Abbreviation of outdated Chinese 羅省技利 (Luóshěngjìlì)[18] (府 means 'urban prefecture') |
| Myanmar | ビルマ | Biruma | မြန်မာ (Mranma) | Burmese | From Dutch or German Birma. See also ミャンマー (Myanmā) and 緬甸 (Menden). | |
| Netherlands | オランダ | 阿蘭陀 | Oranda | Nederland | Dutch | From Portuguese Holanda ('Holland') |
| 和蘭 | ||||||
| Sakhalin | からふと | 樺太 | Karafuto | Сахалин (Sakhalin) | Russian | |
| San Francisco | そうこう‡ | 桑港‡ | Sōkō | San Francisco | English | Also サンフランシスコ (Sanfuranshisuko) |
| Seoul | けいじょう | 京城 | Keijō | 서울 (Seoul) | Korean | Literally means 'capital city'. See also ソウル (Souru). |
| Turkey | トルコ | 土耳古 | Toruko | Türkiye | Turkish | From Portuguese turco |
| United Kingdom | イギリス[1] | 英吉利 | Igirisu | United Kingdom | English | From Portuguese inglês |
| エゲレス | Egeresu | From Dutch Engels | ||||
| れんごうおうこく | 連合王国 | Rengō Ōkoku | 連合 means 'union' and 王国 means 'kingdom'. | |||
| United States of America | がっしゅうこく | 合衆国[19] | Gasshūkoku | United States of America | English | Literally means 'federation'. See also アメリカ (Amerika). |
| Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk | とよはら | 豊原 | Toyohara | Южно-Сахалинск (Yuzhno-Sakhalin) | Russian | |
See also
[edit]
References
[edit]- 1 2 "Why do the Japanese call the UK 'Igirisu'?". RocketNews24. 2015-12-04. Retrieved 2016-11-20.
- ↑ "アラブ首長国連邦（United Arab Emirates：UAE）". Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan (in Japanese). Retrieved 2021-06-28.
- ↑ "Amerika" アメリカ【亜米利加・亜墨利加】. 精選版 日本国語大辞典 (Nihon Kokugo Daijiten Concise edition) (in Japanese). Japan: Shogakukan. meaning [2]. Retrieved 2021-09-05 – via kotobank.
- ↑ "Beikoku" べい‐こく【米国】. 精選版 日本国語大辞典 (Nihon Kokugo Daijiten Concise edition) (in Japanese). Japan: Shogakukan. meaning [2]. Retrieved 2021-09-05 – via kotobank.
- 1 2 3 4 Kaji, Shigeki (2023-04-07). Thoughts on English from a Japanese Standpoint 英語について思うこと. Institute of Comprehensive Academic Research – Departmental Bulletin Paper(1) (Thesis) (in Japanese). Kyoto Sangyo University. p. 105. hdl:10965/00010802. ISSN 1348-8465.
- 1 2 3 4 卜部 (1873). "北京(ペキン)". 英語箋 附録 [English wordbook Appendix] (in Japanese). Vol. 附録 (Appendix). Translated by Urabe (改正増補 (Enhanced revised) ed.). Osaka, Japan: 宝玉堂. doi:10.11501/870009. OCLC 673921511.
- Layout: Japanese word (pronunciation) – English word (pronunciation)
- 支那 (shina) – China (chaina)
- 北京 (pekin) – Pekin (pekin)
- 南京 (nankin) – Nankin (nankin)
- 廣東 (kanton) – Canton (kanton)
- 上海 (jōkai) – Shanghae (shanhai)
- 香港 (honkon) – Hongkong (honkon)
- 西蔵 (shibetsū) – Tibet (shibetto)
- ↑ Nakamura, Keiu, ed. (1879). "Peking". Dictionary of the English, Chinese and Japanese languages 英華和譯字典 (in Japanese). Vol. 2 (坤). Translated by Tsuda, Sen; Yanagisawa, Shindai; Ooi, Kenkichi (1 ed.). Japan: F. Yamanouchi. p. 68. OCLC 703979665.
- 1 2 Ōba, Kakō (1917-01-21). 世界を家として [The World as our home] (in Japanese). Tokyo, Japan: 至誠堂書店. doi:10.11501/948876. OCLC 673410471. [維新前の時分には]上海(シヤンハイ)をジョウカイ、北京(ペキン)をホクキンと呼んだもので、巴里(パリー)もパリスと云はなければ承知しなかったものだ。 [[In those days at the dawn of Meiji Restoration,] they called 上海("shanhai") as "jōkai", and 北京("pekin") as "hokkin". For 巴里("parii"), you had to pronounce "parisu".]
- 1 2 3 Usage examples:Nakanishi, Ryotaro (2022). 20世紀前半における日本人作成のハルビン案内書と市街地図 [City maps and guidebooks Harbin made by japanese in the first half of the 20th century] (PDF). Departmental Bulletin Paper – History and Anthropology. 50 (2022–02). Japan: University of Tsukuba: 7. hdl:2241/0002003191. ISSN 0385-4795.
- ↑ Ando, Masatsugu (1929-03-15). 国語学概説 [Introductory Japanese linguistics] (in Japanese). Tokyo, Japan: 廣文堂 (Kōbundō). p. 175. OCLC 672916169. 北京や上海や香港を日本流に読む人はないが、直隷とか四川とかいふやうな地名は、大抵日本流の發音ですましておく。 [No [Japanese] pronounce 北京, 上海 or 香港 in Japanese style, but for places such as 直隷 or 四川, most people would pronounce them with standard Japanese readings.]
- ↑ Peng, Fei (1994-09-01). "Chotto" wa chotto - Pon Fei Hakushi no Nihongo no fushigi 「ちょっと」はちょっと – ポン・フェイ博士の日本語の不思議 ["Chotto" wa chotto - Doctor Pon Fei's 'Mysteries of Japanese language'] (in Japanese). Tokyo, Japan: Kōdansha. p. 120. ISBN 9784062070812. OCLC 42788922.
- ↑ "Honkon" ホンコン【香港】. 精選版 日本国語大辞典 (Nihon Kokugo Daijiten Concise edition) (in Japanese). Japan: Shogakukan. October 2014. Retrieved 2024-04-27 – via kotobank.
- ↑ 「緬甸」("menden") can be read "biruma" but not "myanmā".
- "Menden" めん‐でん【緬甸】. 精選版 日本国語大辞典 (Nihon Kokugo Daijiten Concise edition) (in Japanese). Japan: Shogakukan – via kotobank.
- "Biruma" ビルマ. 精選版 日本国語大辞典 (Nihon Kokugo Daijiten Concise edition) (in Japanese). Japan: Shogakukan – via kotobank.
- ↑ 小林, 房太郎, 1872-1937 (1932-09-30). "Chōkō" チョウコウ 長江. In Kobayashi, Fusatarō (ed.). 世界地名大辞典 (Sekaichimeidaijiten; World toponym encyclopedia) (in Japanese). Vol. 2 (2 ed.). Tokyo, Japan: Nankosha. p. 1189. doi:10.11501/1876511. Retrieved 2021-04-18.
{{cite encyclopedia}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ↑ 小林, 房太郎, 1872-1937 (1935-09-30). "Yōsukō" ヨウスコウ 揚子江. In Kobayashi, Fusatarō (ed.). 世界地名大辞典 (Sekaichimeidaijiten; World toponym encyclopedia) (in Japanese). Vol. 3 (2 ed.). Tokyo, Japan: Nankosha. p. 2028. doi:10.11501/1876523. Retrieved 2021-04-18.
{{cite encyclopedia}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ↑ "Kaoshun" カオシュン【高雄 Gāo xióng】. 世界大百科事典 第2版 (Heibonsha World Encyclopedia) excerpt (in Japanese). Japan: Heibonsha. Retrieved 2021-09-05 – via kotobank.
- ↑ "Stories Behind Taiwan's Place-Names | Island Folklore". Island Folklore: Taiwanese Tales & Traditions. 2018-12-25. Retrieved 2020-12-04.
- ↑ 南加州日本人七十年史 [Seventy Years of History of the Japanese in Southern California] (in Japanese). Los Angeles: 南加日系人商業会議所 [Nikkeijin Chamber of Commerce of Southern California]. 1960. p. 45.
- ↑ "Gasshūkoku" がっしゅう‐こく【合衆国】. 精選版 日本国語大辞典 (Nihon Kokugo Daijiten Concise edition) (in Japanese). Japan: Shogakukan. meaning [2]. Retrieved 2021-09-05 – via kotobank.
- Nelson, Andrew N. (1962) The Modern Reader's Japanese-English Character Dictionary (Rutland, VT: Charles E. Tuttle Company)