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Some countries whose endonyms are not like their English exonyms (lemmy.sdf.org)
submitted 8 months ago by lars@lemmy.sdf.org to c/map_enthusiasts@sopuli.xyz
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[-] bionicjoey@lemmy.ca 5 points 8 months ago

Nippon is the Chinese word for Japan

Isn't the Chinese word for Japan "Rìběn" （日本）?

[-] Salix@sh.itjust.works 2 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago)

You can read about the Chinese name for Japan here

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Names_of_Japan

[-] bionicjoey@lemmy.ca 3 points 8 months ago

So if I understand correctly, the Chinese pronunciation used to be closer to the Japanese pronunciation of those written characters, but over time the Mandarin pronunciation diverged while the written word stayed the same?

this post was submitted on 19 Feb 2024
148 points (94.6% liked)

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