Japan calls itself Nihon (にほん) or Nippon (にっぽん), derived from the characters 日本 meaning "sun origin" or "where the sun rises," which is why it's known as the "Land of the Rising Sun". While Nihon is common in daily speech, Nippon is often used for official purposes, like on stamps and money, and for international sports.
Both JP and JPN are used for Japan, but JP is the common two-letter country code (ISO 3166-1 alpha-2) and internet domain (.jp), while JPN is the three-letter code (ISO 3166-1 alpha-3) used more in international contexts like sports or official listings, with Nippon or Nihon being the actual Japanese names.
When hi no moto, the indigenous Japanese way of saying "sun's origin", was written in kanji, it was given the characters 日本. In time, these characters began to be read using Sino-Japanese readings, first Nippon and later Nihon, although the two names are interchangeable to this day.
Japanese people (Japanese: 日本人, Hepburn: Nihonjin; IPA: [ɲihoɲdʑiꜜɴ]) are people or ethnic groups identified with the Japanese archipelago. Japanese people constitute 97.1% of the population of the country of Japan.
Gaijin (外人; [ɡai(d)ʑiɴ]; 'outsider, alien') is a Japanese word for foreigners and non-Japanese citizens in Japan, specifically being applied to foreigners of non-Japanese ethnicity and those from the Japanese diaspora who are not Japanese citizens.
The Japanese term for "femboy" is Otokonoko (男の娘), a pun on the word for "boy" (男の子, otokonoko) that replaces the kanji for "child" (子) with the kanji for "daughter/girl" (娘), meaning "male daughter" or "male girl". It refers to males with feminine appearances or expressions, common in Japanese manga, anime, and internet culture, often involving cross-dressing or cosplay.
The "Japan 5-minute rule" refers to extreme punctuality, meaning you should arrive 5-10 minutes before a scheduled time, as being exactly on time is considered late, demonstrating respect and reliability, a concept sometimes called "5-minute prior action" (５分前行動). It highlights Japanese culture's emphasis on preparedness, where trains are so precise that delays over 5 minutes get official notes, making being early a crucial part of business and social etiquette.
Westerner ("seiyohjin" or "western ocean person") is used by Japanese in formal speech or writing to refer to Euramericans in general. But often they'll just use the term "gaijin" or, more politely "gaikokujin", (gai means "outside", and koku means "country"), meaning "foreigners" .
Watashi (私): Polite and gender-neutral. Boku (僕): Polite, casual, and commonly used by males. Ore (俺): Very casual and masculine; used among close friends.
There are a few adopted Japanese terms of endearment, namely ダーリン (daarin) and ハニー (hanii) that we see floating around sometimes. These correspond to the English words “darling” and “honey,” in case you hadn't guessed.
In Japanese, 1 to 10 are: ichi (1), ni (2), san (3), yon/shi (4), go (5), roku (6), nana/shichi (7), hachi (8), kyu/kyuu (9), and juu (10), with some numbers having common alternative readings, especially for 4, 7, and 9, which have different pronunciations depending on context, like yon (4) vs. shi (4), or nana (7) vs. shichi (7).
Japanese people say "草" (kusa, meaning grass) as slang for "LOL" or "hahaha" because a string of repeated "w"s (wwww) used to express laughter looks like blades of grass, evolving from the kanji 笑 (wara) for laugh, shortened to 'w'. It signifies amusement, similar to typing "lol" in English, but context matters, and it's generally used in informal online settings.
Japan Standard Time (JST) is the time zone observed throughout Japan, where the local time is offset by nine hours ahead of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC+9). This time standard is used across Japan without any variation or observance of daylight saving time.
Kawaii culture is a Japanese cultural phenomenon that celebrates cuteness through people, objects, and fictional characters that portray youthful innocence, charm, warmth, and playfulness.
Uno (written: 宇野), is a Japanese surname. People with this surname include: Edison Tomimaro Uno (1929–1976), Asian American and Japanese American civil rights activist. Caol Uno (born 1975), Japanese mixed martial arts fighter.
Suki is a sweet girl's name of Japanese origin, meaning “beloved,” that delights in your devotion for baby. This likeable little name is taken from the Japanese word suki, which, when used in conversation, can be used to express a certain fondness for something.
In Japanese, Hikari (光, ひかり) primarily means "light," "radiance," or "brilliance," symbolizing hope, knowledge, and clarity, and is used as a beautiful unisex name, often for girls, with various kanji combinations adding nuances like "flower," "sun," or "village".
Dono / tono
This term lies below -sama in level of respect. This title is not commonly used in daily conversation, but it is still used in some types of written business correspondence, as well as on certificates and awards, and in tea ceremonies.
In Japan, the number 4 is a symbol of bad luck for multiple reasons, mainly because the Japanese word for “four” is pronounced the same way as the Japanese word for “death”. A neat detail I noticed is that the Squid Skull sticker happens to have a price of 44444.
So the most literal translation of 'daijoubu, boku saikkyou dakara ' is 'don't worry. I'm the strongest, that's why (as in that's why you shouldn't worry).
How to Read Larger Numbers in Japanese
The Japanese 80% rule, known as "Hara Hachi Bu", is a Confucian principle advising people to stop eating when they feel about 80% full, not completely stuffed, to support health and longevity. This practice encourages mindful eating, helps prevent overeating, and is linked to lower rates of illness and longer lifespans, particularly observed in Okinawan centenarians. It involves slowing down during meals, listening to your body's fullness cues, and appreciating food as fuel rather than indulging to the point of discomfort.
Thanks to a historically weak yen, the U.S. dollar goes quite far in Japan, making food, local transport, and cultural sites surprisingly affordable, though high-end hotels and bullet trains still cost significantly in dollar terms; expect about 155-156 yen per dollar, allowing for cheap convenience store snacks, budget ramen for around $10, and museum entries under $5, making it a great value trip for U.S. travelers.
The "3 Date Rule" in Japan refers to the cultural tendency to make a formal love confession (kokuhaku) on or around the third date, marking the transition from casual dating to an official couple, often after building trust with lighter activities like meals or walks, and it's considered a crucial step for clarifying relationship status before deeper intimacy, though it's a guideline, not a strict law.