[General Knowledge] Summary of Kanji Quizzes Representing Country Names

Australia

Australia is often written as 豪州 using the character 豪 without the water radical, because the character 濠 from 濠太剌利 is not a commonly used (Jōyō) kanji. The character 州 is used because it denotes a continent, hence 豪州. Incidentally, 濠太剌利 is an ateji (phonetic) rendering.

India

The country name India evolved from the old name of the Indus River, “Sind,” which was first called “Hindu” and later became “Indo/India.” The Indus River, from which the country’s name is derived, flows to the west of India, and in ancient times the Indus Valley Civilization emerged there.

France

Located in Western Europe, France is famous for landmarks such as the Eiffel Tower and the Arc de Triomphe. Mont-Saint-Michel, which was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1979, is also an essential destination for travelers in France, offering a variety of beautiful views that change with the time of day.

Turkey

It is said that the character for “ear” is used in the kanji for Turkey because, when read in Chinese, it is pronounced with a sound close to the Japanese “ru” in “Toruko.” In English-speaking countries, the country used to be written as “Turkey,” pronounced “tur-key,” but it has been changed to the Turkish form “Türkiye,” rendered in Japanese as “トゥルキエ.”

Canada

The kanji used to represent Canada are said to have been assigned as ateji (phonetic substitute characters). The country name “Canada” is believed to originate from the word “kanata,” used by the Iroquois people to mean “village.” Incidentally, when written with a single kanji character, it is “加.”

Netherlands

It is said that the kanji character 和 is used to indicate friendship, because the Netherlands maintained relations with Japan even during the Edo period, when Japan was closed to most foreign contact. In kanji, the country was also written simply as 和蘭 or as 阿蘭陀. In Dutch, the country’s name is written as “Nederland.”

Brazil

The name Brazil was given based on the name of a tree found there. Originally, that tree was brought back by the Portuguese fleet and is used for dye. The variety that grows in parts of Brazil is designated as an endangered species.

Italy

It is said that long ago Italy was covered with rural landscapes where many cattle were raised. The Greek word “Italia,” which depicts the sight of calves playing among those cattle, is said to have become the country’s name as it is. Even today, Italy boasts many tourist spots shaped by abundant nature, such as the Blue Grotto and the Val d’Orcia.

Portugal

The country name Portugal comes from combining the Latin words Portus, meaning a warm harbor, and Cale, forming “Portugal.” Japan has had a long history of exchanges with Portugal, and words such as pan (bread) and organ are examples of Portuguese terms used as-is in Japanese.

America

Because the word “Meriken,” used to refer to Americans, was written with the kanji 米 (rice), the kanji for America also includes 米. While America is written as 米国, it has also been represented as 亜墨利加 and 亜美利加.