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San José State University Department of Economics |
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applet-magic.com Thayer Watkins Silicon Valley & Tornado Alley USA |
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The first step in decoding Japanese place names is to learn the five
placements.
These are:
| DIRECTIONS | ||
|---|---|---|
| north hoku, kita | ||
| west nishi | central chuo, naka | east higashi, to |
| south minami |
For information on the syllabification of Japanese words click here.
The names of geographic features are:
| GEOGRAPHIC FEATURES | |
|---|---|
| edo | estuary |
| hama | shore beach |
| kai | ocean, sea |
| kaikyo | channel strait |
| kaku | point |
| kawa, gawa | river |
| sawa, zawa | stream |
| ko kosui | lake |
| minato | harbor, port |
| mizu | water |
| nada | gulf, sea |
| bonti | basin |
| suido | channel |
| ko numa | lake |
| saki misaki | cape |
| hanto | peninsula |
| shima, jima | island |
| heiya | plains |
| san sen zan | hill mountain |
| santi | hill mountains |
| sanmyaku | hill mountain range |
| ishi | rock |
| seto | strait |
| kaikyo | straits |
| tani, dani | valley |
| umi | sea |
| to shima | island |
| syoto | islands archipelago |
| hashi | bridge |
| michi | road |
| wan | bay, gulf |
| yama | mountain(s) |
| yoko | coast |
| zaki saki | cape, point headland |
| zen | mountain |
| saka | hill, slope |
| ya | house, castle |
| ki, gi | tree |
| mori | forest |
| ta,da | rice paddy |
The names of colors and numbers are:
| COLORS | |
|---|---|
| shiroi | white |
| akai | red |
| kuroi | black |
| kiiroi | yellow |
| nezumiiro | gray, grey |
| aoi | blue |
| midoriiro | green |
Japanese has two sets of words for numbers. One is from the original Japanese language and the other is of loan words from Chinese. For ordinary counting the Chinese versions are used but in formal names the Japanese version prevails. For example, the company name Mitsubishi, meaning three diamonds, uses the old Japanese word for three.
| NUMBERS | Japanese Origin |
Chinese Origin |
|---|---|---|
| one | hitotsu | ichi |
| two | futatsu | ni |
| three | mittsu | san |
| four | yottsu | shi |
| five | itsutsu | go |
| six | muttsu | roku |
| seven | nanatsu | shichi |
| eight | yattsu | hachi |
| nine | kokonotsu | ku, kyu |
| ten | to | ju |
Some names for administrative entities and for attributes are:
| ADMINISTRATIVE ENTITIES | |
|---|---|
| mura, son | village district of town |
| machi, cho | town district of city |
| shi | city |
| gun | district |
| ichi | market |
| shuku, juku | post town |
| ku | ward of a city especially Tokyo |
| fu | city prefecture |
| ken | prefecture |
| shu koku | province, district |
| kyo | capital |
| horo | tent, pavilion |
| ATTRIBUTES | |
|---|---|
| nagai | long |
| furui ko | old |
| naka | middle |
| o | big |
| shimo | lower |
| takai | high |
| hiro | broad |
| moto, hon | old, original |
| shin | new |
Some city names:
| CITY NAMES | |
|---|---|
| City | ORIGIN OF NAME |
| Tokyo | "eastern capital" |
| Kyoto | "capital" |
| Osaka | "big hill" |
| Nagoya | "named old castle" |
| Hiroshima | "broad island" |
| Nagasaki | "long promotory" |
| Sapporo | "paper money pavilion" |
| Yokohama | "coast shore" |
Island and Region Names
| PLACE | JAPANESE NAME | ORIGIN OF NAME |
|---|---|---|
| Northern-most Island | Hokkaido | "northern sea province" |
| Main Island | Honshu | "main province" |
| Southwestern Island | Kyushu | "nine provinces" |
| Island South of Honshu | Shikoku | "four provinces" |
| The Osaka Region | Kansai | "west of the divide" |
| The Tokyo Region | Kanto | "east of the divide" |
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