Japan = 日本 [rì běn]

Japan in a few sketches: the flag with its red sun, a sumo wrestler, a katana and the word “Nippon.” In Chinese, Japan is 日本.

日本 (Rìběn) means “Japan.” 日 is sun and 本 means origin, so it is “the origin of the sun,” the same idea as “Land of the Rising Sun.” In Japanese the same characters are read Nihon or Nippon.

A Japanese person is 日本人 (Rìběnrén), and the Japanese language is 日语 (Rìyǔ).

我想去日本旅游。 — Wǒ xiǎng qù Rìběn lǚyóu. — I want to travel to Japan.

他是日本人。 — Tā shì Rìběnrén. — He is Japanese.