日の丸

ひのまる · hinomaru · JLPT N1 · noun

flag

🇯🇵 日の丸 = sun (日) + of (の) + circle (丸): the round sun on the flag

Japan is the Land of the Rising Sun, so its flag is a red disc. 日 sun, の of, 丸 circle: hi-no-maru, sun's circle.

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'.

丸 — 九 nine + dot 丶
Originally a pictograph showing a small round object or pellet, depicting something that can be rolled. The modern form resembles 九 with a dot, but historically it derives from 仄 inverted, suggesting something tipping or rolling. It came to mean 'round ball,' 'pellet,' or 'pill.'

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