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 to understand “nihongo” more clearly. Then, let’s get started!
Contents
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 every day.
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.
Nihongo in kanji
The kanji expression of “nihongo” consists of the following two parts:
- nihon – 日本 (にほん) : a noun meaning ‘Japanese’ in Japanese.
- go – 語 (ご) : a suffix often used to mean ‘language’ in Japanese.
These two parts tell us that “nihongo” literally means ‘the Japanese language’ in Japanese. This literal interpretation is completely in line with the meanings.
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. Then, let me explain how to use it through the example sentences below.
Example #1: how to say “Japanese” in Japanese
karera wa nihongo ga suki desu – 彼等は日本語が好きです (かれらはにほんごがすきです)
They love Japanese.
Below are the new words used in the example sentence.
- karera – 彼等 (かれら) : a pronoun meaning ‘they’ in Japanese.
- wa – は : a binding particle working as a case marker or topic marker. In the example, this woks after “karera” 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) : one conjugation 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, actually, this works 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”. When we want to mean ‘Japanese’ or ‘the Japanese language’ in Japanese, this noun is the best option.
Example #2: another usage of “nihongo”
boku wa nihongo ga jouzu desu – 僕は日本語が上手です (ぼくはにほんごがじょうずです)
I’m 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.
- jouzu – 上手 (じょうず) : a noun, but often used as the stem part of the na-adjective, “jouzu na”, 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.
By the way, “wa” in this example works as a topic marker to put a focus on “boku”, so the original meaning of the Japanese sentence is more like ‘for me, my Japanese is good’. It has been translated as “I’m good at Japanese”, though.
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 every day. “Nihon” and “go” mean ‘Japan’ and ‘language’ respectively, so this noun literally means ‘the Japanese language’ in Japanese. The kanji expression is completely in line with the meanings.
Hope my explanations are understandable and helpful for Japanese learners.
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