Hello, I am Yoshi from NILS Japnaese language school. Today’s topic is the way to call our country “日本”.
The other day, a student asked me why Japanese sometimes call their country Nippon にっぽん and sometimes Nihon にほん. Which is correct?
Chinese characters used in Japan can be read in several different ways without having their meanings changed. So we can read our country’s name as Nippon or Nihon without a difference in meaning. There is no legal rule as to which is correct but Nippon is usually used for international sports events and on postage stamps.



March 8 News, from NILS Japanese language school.