• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Japanese Particles Master

particles for perfection

  • Home
  • grammar
  • particles
  • nouns
  • verbs
  • adjectives
  • adverbs
  • translation
  • Author
Home » nouns » Nihongo is the Japanese word for ‘Japanese’, explained

September 30, 2022 By Masaki Mori

Nihongo is the Japanese word for ‘Japanese’, explained

What does “nihongo” mean in Japanese?

Native speakers say “nihongo” to mean ‘Japanese’ or ‘the Japanese language’ in Japanese. Probably, many Japanese learners know this word as it is often used in Japanese textbooks. In this blog post, however, I will explain this word in detail based on its kanji expression. And also, I will explain how to use it through example sentences. My explanations would help Japanese learners understand “nihongo” more clearly. Then, let’s get started!

Advertisements

Contents

  • Definition and meanings of “nihongo”
  • What does “nihongo” literally mean in Japanese?
    • Example #1: how to say “Japanese” in Japanese
    • Example #2: another usage of “nihongo”
  • Summary

Definition and meanings of “nihongo”

Let me start with the definition and meanings of “nihongo”.

  • nihongo – 日本語 (にほんご) : a noun meaning ‘Japanese’ or ‘the Japanese language’ in Japanese.

Japanese native speakers use this noun to refer to the language they are using today.

The definition and meanings are simple and clear, I think. To understand this noun more clearly, however, let me explain its kanji expression in detail.

What does “nihongo” literally mean in Japanese?

The kanji expression of “nihongo” consists of the following two parts:

  • nihon – 日本 (にほん) : a noun meaning ‘Japan’ in Japanese.
  • go – 語 (ご) : a suffix often used to add the meaning of ‘language’ in Japanese.

These two parts tell us that “nihongo” literally means ‘the language in Japan’ in Japanese. This literal interpretation is completely in line with the actual meanings.

nihongo in japanese

When we meet new kanji expressions, we should check their parts in detail to understand their meanings clearly and deeply. In many cases, parts tell us a lot about the meanings of the expressions they form. Actually, here, we could get the better understanding of “nihongo” through the detailed check above.

So far, I’ve explained the definition and meanings of “nihongo” together with its kanji expression. Then, let me explain how to use it through the example sentences below.

Advertisements

Example #1: how to say “Japanese” in Japanese

kanojo wa nihongo ga suki desu – 彼女は日本語が好きです (かのじょはにほんごがすきです)

She loves Japanese.

Below are the new words used in the example sentence.

  • kanojo – 彼女 (かのじょ) : a pronoun meaning ‘she’ in Japanese.
  • wa – は : a binding particle working as a case marker or topic marker. In the example, this woks after “kanojo” to make the subject in the sentence.
  • ga – が : a case particle used to make the subject word or the object word in a sentence. In the example, this is used after “nihongo” to make the object in the sentence.
  • suki – 好き (すき) : the stem part of the na-adjective, “sukina”, which means ‘favorite’ in Japanese. Native speakers, however, often use this as an individual word to mean ‘to like’ or ‘to love’ in Japanese. In the example, this is used to mean ‘to love’.
  • desu – です : an auxiliary verb used after a noun or adjective to make it polite. Probably, this is well known as a part of Japanese desu form. In the example, this is used after “suki” to make it sound polite.

This is a typical usage of “nihongo”. In this example, it works together with the case particle, “ga”, to become the object in the sentence. When we want to mean ‘Japanese’ or ‘the Japanese language’ in Japanese, anyway, this noun is the best option.

Advertisements

Example #2: another usage of “nihongo”

boku tachi wa nihongo ga jouzu desu – 僕達は日本語が上手です (ぼくたちはにほんごがじょうずです)

We are good at Japanese.

Below are the new words used in the example sentence.

  • boku – 僕 (ぼく) : a pronoun meaning ‘I’ in Japanese. This is used mainly by boys and young males.
  • tachi – 達 (たち) : a suffix used after a noun or pronoun to make its plural form. In the example, this is used after “boku” to make its plural form, “boku tachi”, which means ‘we’ in Japanese. Learn more about Japanese plural.
  • jouzu – 上手 (じょうず) : a noun, but often used as the stem part of the na-adjective, “jouzuna”, which means ‘good (at something)’ in Japanese.

This is another typical usage of “nihongo”. In this example, it works as a part of the commonly-used phrase, “nihongo ga jouzu”, which means ‘to be good at Japanese’ in Japanese. This phrase can work alone especially in speaking to say “my Japanese is good”, “your Japanese is good”, or such. It’s worth knowing, I think.

Summary

In this blog post, I’ve explained the definition and meanings of “nihongo” in detail based on its kanji expression. And also, I’ve explained how to use it through the example sentences. Let me summarize them as follows.

  • nihongo – 日本語 (にほんご) : a noun meaning ‘Japanese’ or ‘the Japanese language’ in Japanese. Japanese native speakers use this noun to refer to the language they are using today. “Nihon” and “go” mean ‘Japan’ and ‘language’ respectively, so this noun literally means ‘the language in Japan’ in Japanese. The kanji expression is, therefore, completely in line with the actual meanings.

Hope my explanations are understandable and helpful for Japanese learners.

  • Share on Twitter Share on Twitter
  • Share on Facebook Share on Facebook
  • Share on Pinterest Share on Pinterest
  • Share on LinkedIn Share on LinkedIn
  • Share on Reddit Share on Reddit
  • Share via Email Share via Email
Advertisements

Filed Under: nouns

Primary Sidebar

Written by Masaki Mori

Engineer and industrial translator for more than ten years. I teach Japanese to spread the Japanese culture. I always try to explain every single new word so that Japanese learners can understand the correct meanings of example sentences. Read More…

Follow Me on Social Media

  • Facebook
  • Twitter

Learn more words by kanji groups

Kanji for bad Kanji for beauty Kanji for big Kanji for cat Kanji for child Kanji for day Kanji for devil Kanji for eye Kanji for fire Kanji for god Kanji for ground Kanji for hand Kanji for he Kanji for heart Kanji for heaven Kanji for mood Kanji for moon Kanji for mouth Kanji for night Kanji for now Kanji for one of a pair Kanji for person Kanji for rain Kanji for time Kanji for tree Kanji for week Kanji for what Kanji for woman Kanji for year

Check recent posts

  • Doubutsu is the Japanese word for ‘animal’, explained
  • Shachou is the Japanese word for ‘company president’, explained
  • Musou is the Japanese word for ‘unparalleled person’, explained
  • Densha is the Japanese word for ‘train’, explained
  • Kaizoku is the Japanese word for ‘pirate’, explained

Are you still looking for something?

Advertisements

Footer

Pages

  • Author
  • Privacy Policy

Categories

  • adjectives
  • adverbs
  • grammar
  • nouns
  • particles
  • translation
  • verbs
  • vocabulary

Written by Masaki Mori

Engineer and industrial translator for more than ten years. I teach Japanese to spread the Japanese culture. Read More…

Follow Me on Social Media

  • Facebook
  • Twitter

Feed

  • RSS

Copyright © 2017–2023 Japanese Particles Master All Rights Reserved.