Language/Japanese/Vocabulary/Geography
Japan is a fascinating country with a rich culture, history, and geography. The geography of Japan ranges from its stunning coastline to its towering mountain ranges, and from its bustling cities to its serene rural areas. To fully appreciate and understand this beautiful country, it is important to learn about its geography and the vocabulary associated with it in the Japanese language. This article will provide an introduction to the geography of Japan and a comprehensive list of vocabulary words related to geography that can help you improve your Japanese language skills. Whether you are a student, traveler, or language learner, this article will be a valuable resource for you. 🌏
Japan is an archipelago (a group of isles).
There are many small isles, but Japan is known to be mainly composed of 4 large islands: Hokkaidou, Honshu, Shikoku, and Kyuushuu. Each of them is divided into a set of prefectures, except for Hokkaidou, which has only one prefecture: HOKKAIDOU. Besides Prefecture, there are also districts that compose the main islands.
The shape of Japan looks like a curve. With a bit of imagination, we can see the letter "J" with a top bar. 🇯🇵
Summary: Japan is 4 main islands, 8 areas, and 47 prefectures.
After exploring the geography of Japan, you might also be interested in learning more about other aspects of the Japanese language. Check out our articles on Japanese music and dance vocabulary, Japanese feelings and emotions vocabulary, and Japanese transport vocabulary to further enhance your language skills. Happy learning! 📚
Hokkaidou[edit | edit source]
Hokkaidou is a whole itself. Isle, prefecture and everything.
It means there is only Hokkaidou, nothing else.
Honshu[edit | edit source]
Hon, means main. Honshu Is the largest of four. Located between the south of Hokkaidou and the north of Kyuushuu.
Contrary to other islands, Honshu also got aeras which are : Touhoku, Kantou, Chuubu, Kansai and Chuugoku.
Is located in the deep east of Japan.
Tohoku prefectures[edit | edit source]
Aomori, Iwate, Miyagi, Akita, Yamagata, Fukushima.
Kantou prefectures[edit | edit source]
Ibaraki, Tochigi, Gunma, Saitam, Chiba, Tokyo, Kanagawa.
Chuubu prefectures[edit | edit source]
Niigata, Toyama, Ishikawa, Fukui, Yamanashi, Nagano, Gifu, Shizuoka, Aichi.
Kansai prefectures[edit | edit source]
Mie, Shiga, Kyoto, Osaka, Hyogo, Nara, Wakayama.
Chuugoku prefectures[edit | edit source]
Tottori, Shimane, Okayama, Hiroshima, Yamaguchi
Shikoku[edit | edit source]
Shikoku is the smallest main island. It is located under the Chuugoku aera and between Kansai aera and Kyuushuu island.
It is composed of 4 prefectures.
Tokushima, Kagawa, Ehime, Kochi.
Kyuushuu[edit | edit source]
Is the south east of Japan.
Located is the very far west south, the most famous city is Nagasaki, known to has been hit by the A-Bomb at the end of WW2.
Okinawa[edit | edit source]
There is also another very famous Island called Okinawa which is attached to Kyuushuu.
Historic facts[edit | edit source]
- 1995 : Kobe got hit by an earthquake which made ...
- 2011 : The biggest earthquake ever happend in the region of Tohoku, distric of Sendai
[edit | edit source]
Main words[edit | edit source]
Here is a list of the main Japanese words related to geography, along with their pronunciation in the Romanized script, Hiragana and Katakana writing systems, and Kanji.
English | Romanized | Hiragana | Katakana | Kanji |
---|---|---|---|---|
Mountain | Yama | やま | ヤマ | 山 |
River | Kawa | かわ | カワ | 川 |
Sea | Umi | うみ | ウミ | 海 |
Island | Shima | しま | シマ | 島 |
City | Machi | まち | マチ | 町 |
Country | Inaka | いなか | イナカ | 田舎 |
Coast | Kaigan | かいがん | カイガン | 海岸 |
Beach | Hama | はま | ハマ | 浜 |
Forest | Mori | もり | モリ | 森 |
Valley | Tani | たに | タニ | 谷 |
More words[edit | edit source]
English | Japanese (日本語) | Japanese (Rōmaji) |
---|---|---|
America | アメリカ | Amerika |
around | 回 | mawari |
Asia | アジア | Ajia |
behind | 後ろ - うしろ | ushiro |
between | 間 | aida |
capital city | 首都 | shuto |
China | 中国 | Chuu-goku |
citizen | 市民 | shi-min |
compass | コンパス | konpasu |
continent | 大陸 | tai-riku |
country | 国 | kuni, (-koku) |
dictatorship | 独裁 | dokusai |
down | 下 | shita |
downstream | 川下 | kawa-shimo |
East | 東 | higashi |
emperor | 皇帝 | kōtei |
empress | 皇后 | kōgō |
far | 遠い | tooi |
flag | 旗 | hata |
France | フランス | Furansu |
Germany | ドイツ | Doitsu |
government | 政府 - せいふ | seifu |
in front of | 前 | mae |
in the middle | 中 | naka |
in, into, inside, at | に | ni |
Japan | 日本 | Nihon |
king | 王 | ō |
kingdom | 王国 | ō-koku |
map | 地図 | chizu |
minister | 大臣 | dai-jin |
monarchy | 君主制 | kunshusei |
nation, people | 国民 | koku-min |
near | 近い , 近く , そば | chikai, chikaku, soba |
North | 北 | kita |
on the left | 左 | hidari |
on the right | 右 | migi |
out of, outside | 外 | soto |
parliament | 国会 - こっかい | kokkai |
parliamentarian | 議員 | giin |
prime minister | 総理大臣 , 首相 | sōri-daijin, shushō |
prince | 王子 | ō-ji |
princess | 王女 | ō-jo |
queen | 女王 | jo-ō |
region | 地方 | chihō |
republic | 共和国 | kyōwa-koku |
South | 南 | minami |
South Korea | 韓国 | Kan-koku |
straight ahead | まっすぐ | masugu |
Tokyo | 東京 | Tōkyō |
translator | 訳者 | yaku-sha |
up | 上 | ue |
upstream | 川上 | kawa-kami |
West | 西 | nishi |
Videos[edit | edit source]
Here is a list of videos that showcase the geography of Japan.
Geography of Japan[edit | edit source]
Japan's Geography explained in under 3 Minutes[edit | edit source]
Other Lessons[edit | edit source]
- Transport
- 四季 (The four seasons)
- Counting and Numbers
- Greetings
- Love
- Education
- Shellfish
- Weather
- Colors
- Glossary of Japanese martial arts