日本
にっぽん · nippon · JLPT N3 · noun
Japan
🗾🌅 日本 = sun + origin: the land where the sun comes from
日 means sun or day, and 本 means root or origin. Seen from China, Japan lay to the east, toward the sunrise, which gives the name sun-origin. Nippon and Nihon are both readings of the same two kanji.
日 — pictograph of the sun
日 is a pictograph of the sun, originally drawn as a circle with a dot or stroke inside representing the sun's substance. Over time the round shape was squared off into the modern rectangular form. It means 'sun' and by extension 'day'.
本 — tree 木 + mark at base
本 is a pictograph of a tree (木) with a stroke at its base, marking the roots. From this 'root' meaning it extended to 'origin,' 'source,' and 'foundation.' In modern usage it also serves as a measure word for bound objects like books.
にほん · nihon · JLPT N3 · noun
Japan
🗾🌅 日 sun + 本 origin = the sun's origin, the Land of the Rising Sun
日 means sun or day, and 本 means root or origin. From China, Japan lay to the east, where the sun comes up, so the name means where the sun comes from. Nippon is an older reading of the same two characters.
日 — pictograph of the sun
日 is a pictograph of the sun, originally drawn as a circle with a dot or stroke inside representing the sun's substance. Over time the round shape was squared off into the modern rectangular form. It means 'sun' and by extension 'day'.
本 — tree 木 + mark at base
本 is a pictograph of a tree (木) with a stroke at its base, marking the roots. From this 'root' meaning it extended to 'origin,' 'source,' and 'foundation.' In modern usage it also serves as a measure word for bound objects like books.