Where does “Japan” come from?

Japan (Swedish) comes from Dutch Japan, from Malay Jepang, from Hokkien 日本, from Middle Chinese 日本 — Land of the Rising Sun.

Japan (Swedish): A person from Japan

Definitions

  1. A person from Japan

Ancestry of “Japan”, step by step

Japan traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Dutch Japan

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1DutchJapan—
2MalayJepangJapanese
3Hokkien日本Japan; Japanese; Japan
4Middle Chinese日本Land of the Rising Sun

via Portuguese Japão

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1PortugueseJapãoJapanese
Every word from Middle Chinese 日本 →Every word from Hokkien 日本 →Every word from Malay Jepang →