VocabularyJLPT N5 · core

日本人

にほんじん

hepburn nihonjin

Japanese person

Part of speech · noun

Pattern visualization

日sun

本book

人person

Show stroke order animation

Numbers4 strokes · 2.7s

Numbers5 strokes · 3.4s

Numbers2 strokes · 1.3s

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Examples

日本人の友達がいます。
I have a Japanese friend.
私は日本人ではありません。
I am not Japanese.

Collocations

日本人 (nihonjin, Japanese person)日本人らしい (nihonjin rashii, typically Japanese)日系 (nikkei, of Japanese descent)在外日本人 (zaigai nihonjin, Japanese abroad)日本国籍 (nihon kokuseki, Japanese nationality)

Mnemonic

Nihonjin (日本人) is "Japanese person" — 日本 (Nihon or Nippon) plus 人. Nihon and Nippon coexist: Nihon for everyday speech, Nippon for formal contexts, international sports cheers (Ganbare Nippon), and official usage. Japans formal name is Nihon-koku or Nippon-koku, with the kanji etymology "land where the sun rises" — a Chinese designation Japan adopted as self-name from the 7th-century Asuka period. The nihonjin cluster includes nikkei (日系, ethnic-Japanese diaspora descendants in Brazil, Peru, Hawaii, and California, around 3.8 million globally), zaigai nihonjin (Japanese residing abroad, around 1.3 million in 2023, concentrated in the US, China, Thailand, Australia), nihonjin rashii (typically Japanese, a cultural-identity marker), and japaniizu (Japanese as a loanword). Cultural traits associated with nihonjin rashii: punctuality, polite greetings, group cooperation, frugality, gaman (我慢, endurance / patience). Self-critical companion vocabulary includes Galapagos-ka (Galapagos-ization) and shimaguni konjou (island-country mentality, insular thinking critique). Korean ilbon-in and Chinese 日本人 share the kanji. JLPT N5 nihonjin pairs with Japans self-identity cluster.

Quick check

Reading split between Nihon and Nippon?